Sevenair, a Portuguese regional airline based in Cascais, has signed a Letter of Intent with Heart Aerospace, the Swedish electric airplane maker. The agreement covers the purchase of three electric ES-30 aircraft with an option for an additional three.
Sevenair and the ES-30 are a good match for one another, so this order does not come as a surprise. The airline is a member of Heart Aerospace’s Industry Advisory Board, representing airlines, leasing companies and airports from all over the world.
Sevenair currently operates seven routes in Portugal, all of which can be covered by the ES-30s because the airline specialises in regional operations.
Its routes, operated by a Dornier 228-200, include:
- Vila Real (VRL) to Viseu (VSE) with a scheduled flying time of just 10 minutes
- Braganca (BGC) to Vila Real (VRL) with a scheduled flying time of just 20 minutes
- Cascais (CAT) to Portimao (PRM) with a scheduled flying time of just 35 minutes
The ES-30 is a regional aircraft with the seat capacity for 30 passengers. It is designed to run on a combination of batteries and reserve hybrid turbogenerators capable of using 100% SAF.
Its full electric range with current battery technology is 200 kilometers (125 miles), all-inclusive of typical airline reserves. This allows the airplane to operate with zero emissions and low noise.
The ES-30 also includes a reserve-hybrid configuration, which can extend the range to 400 kilometers (250 miles). In a low-density configuration, it is proposed to be capable of reaching up to 800 km (500 miles).
Alexandre Alves, Chief Commercial Officer at Sevenair, commented on the ES-30 as follows:
“We believe the ES-30 will be a game changer for the short distance regional flights offering low noise and no emissions. These features combined with the possibility of decreasing operating costs heavily impacted by fuel and maintenance will allow any airline operating the aircraft to offer new routes that before were not viable and expand the regional air connectivity to a broader spectrum of passengers.”
Heart Aerospace has 230 orders
With this latest expression of interest from Sevenair, Heart Aerospace has a total of 230 orders and 100 options for the ES-30, along with LOIs for a further 99 airplanes. Air Canada signed a purchase agreement last month.
Celebrating the news, Anders Forslund, CEO of Heart Aerospace, said:
“With the ES-30, we have designed an airplane that can start cutting emissions from regional air travel before the end of this decade and it is progressive airlines such as Sevenair that make it a reality. We couldn’t be happier to have them as a partner.”
What is Heart Aerospace?
The Swedish company describes itself as working at the cutting edge of technology while contributing towards a sustainable future. Heart’s mission is to create the world’s greenest, most affordable, and most accessible form of transport.
This mission is grounded in the outlook that electric air travel will become the new normal for regional flights and can be transformational in addressing the industry’s key sustainability challenges.
The company’s investors include Air Canada, the European Investment Council, Saab, and United Airlines Ventures. Its final assembly facility will be located at Säve Airport in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Apart from the ES-30, the company is working on ES-19, which is a smaller version. Finnair has signed an LOI to receive up to 20 of the type, while United Airlines intends to purchase 100.
What do you think of this order? Let us know in the comments below.
