Bookings open for first all-electric flights around Scandinavia … in 2028
- Reference: 1685685910
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/06/02/electric_flight_ticket_on_sale/
- Source link:
At noon central European time, the airline will allow registration for 30 seats on one of three inaugural flights. SAS can't say where the planes will leave from, nor where they will land – which may be why it will take bookings but won't require payment until 30 days before takeoff. Simply registering for the spot is free, and interested parties can do so [1]here .
One thing SAS will say is it plans to fly startup Heart Aerospace's ES-30 hybrid electric regional aircraft – claimed to produce zero emissions of CO 2 , NOX and ultrafine particulates.
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The ES-30's four electric motors can use a combination of batteries and hybrid turbogenerators.
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In all-electric mode, range is just 200km. In hybrid mode with a full load of 30 passengers, that extends to 600km. Flying with five fewer folk aboard allows 800km journeys.
The plane's batteries are manufactured in partnership with [5]BAE systems
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A prototype of the ES-30 is expected in 2026, and SAS evidently expects to fly it with people on board just two years later.
SAS is not the only customer for the plane. [7]Air Canada has made a provisional order for 30, United Airlines and its Mesa Air regional partner are [8]reportedly among many to have some on order as well.
[9]Airline puts international passengers on the scales pre-flight
[10]Boeing takes flight in sustainability battle with carbon data cruncher
[11]US military spends weekend shooting down Useless Floating Objects
[12]Let me X-plane: Boeing R&D unit sheds rudder, ailerons, flaps for DARPA project
If the successful would-be-passengers find themselves busy by the time 2028 rolls around, the seat is transferable free of charge.
The price (1,946 Swedish Krona, or about $180) is a gimmick – 1946 was the year of SAS's inaugural flight. If a passenger would like to pay in either Norwegian or Danish Krone instead, the price will remain 1946 of those currencies. The Reg has done the math and recommends paying in NKK ($176) and definitely not DKK ($281) – assuming exchange rates remain fairly stable until ticket holders have to cough up that cash. However, the currency paid is linked to the country of the flight.
SAS has a goal to hit net-zero emissions by 2050. Using electric vehicles for shorter runs is part of the strategy to get there.
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The airline would like to remind everyone that it’s been an innovator before. SAS was the first commercial airline operator to fly over the North Pole to shorten flight time between continents. The feat earned it the Columbus Prize, boasted SAS CEO Anko van der Werff in a [14]press release.
"The fact that we can now invite our passengers to the next major milestone in the future of aviation is a natural continuation of that pioneering spirit and a significant step on our journey towards more sustainable aviation," said the CEO. ®
Get our [15]Tech Resources
[1] https://travel.flysas.com/electric
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZHm9tQd3lpFsKUbE8b0o2QAAAMg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZHm9tQd3lpFsKUbE8b0o2QAAAMg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZHm9tQd3lpFsKUbE8b0o2QAAAMg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://heartaerospace.com/newsroom/bae-systems-and-heart-aerospace-to-collaborate-on-battery-for-electric-airplane/
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZHm9tQd3lpFsKUbE8b0o2QAAAMg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://heartaerospace.com/newsroom/heart-aerospace-unveils-new-airplane-design-confirms-air-canada-and-saab-as-new-shareholders/
[8] https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-09-15/heart-unveils-plans-30-seat-electric-regional-airliner-new-backers
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/31/air_new_zealand_to_get/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/18/boeing_sustainability_tool/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/13/us_ufo_uap_shootings/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/18/boeing_x_plane_darpa/
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZHm9tQd3lpFsKUbE8b0o2QAAAMg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://www.sasgroup.net/newsroom/press-releases/2023/reserve-your-seat-on-sas-first-electric-flight-2028/
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Assuming SAS is still in business by then
That's another point.
I was just considering that I prefer waiting until a few hundred flights have taken place before I try inaugurating an entirely new type of airplane.
Got to start somewhere...
30 seats isn't much, so it has to be seen how commercially viable that is. On the other hand, aviation fuel and engine maintenance are both big expenses for airlines, so the commercial side could work just fine. Also, smaller aircraft allow operation out of smaller airfields (more regional, shorter waiting times), which could work very well for people in more rural areas who would otherwise have to travel 2-3 hours to a big airport (+ having to be there 2 hours before the flight). That could open up more point-to-point routes, contrary to the trend in the last few years where major airlines have routed most flights through major hubs.
£150-ish seems quite reasonable even though gimmick-gamed... I remember it wasn't that long ago (20-ish years) when a short-haul flight in Europe cost £300 plus in "then" money (probably closer to £500 now).
With specs like that, the plane would be ideal for island hopping, like Heathrow to the channel islands.
I'll take those 200 km all-electric range with a grain of salt, though. And going from prototype to passenger flights in two years is completely preposterous.
There were trials in Orkney 2 years ago for the flight to Westray and Papa Westray (shortest scheduled flight in the world).
Not heard anything since, so no idea how successful it was. Looked like a good fit for EV.
They also trialled hydrogen in 2019. Nothing more about that either.
I've got several comments, not all related to each other.
1) These "hybrid turbogenerators" run on what exactly? Maybe I've missed it? If they run on hydrocarbons, well, there you are. I don't think airplanes have much benefit from regenerative braking.
2) For a 200 km flight, the time you spend getting to the airport and traversing the various queues inside the airport is going to be a lot bigger than the time it would have taken you to just drive there. It barely makes sense for a 600 km flight.
3) All of that said, we do have to start somewhere, and if this works out it will at least prove that battery-powered commercial flight is possible. That's a pretty good first step. Battery tech still has quite a bit of potential to get better.
4) Also, I think that if we managed to decarbonise everything except for a few tough nuts like long-range flight, that would be good enough. If the amount of fossil-powered activities was reduced by 90%, we could probably offset the remaining 10%. I don't think synthetic hydrocarbons (produced with renewables or nuclear) are going to work out for personal transportation, but for long-range flight they might be good enough.
On 2): unless it’s over water or mountains.
The turbo generators on the aircraft probably ause viation fuel, or synthetic aviation fuel. Manufacturing synthetic fuel isn't very efficient, and makes no sense for road or rail vehicles when compared to using pure electric power, but for an aircraft, a synthetic fuel makes a lot more sense than batteries, because the energy density is so much better. (With road vehicles, the efficiency hit of carrying heavy batteries isn't as bad as the efficiency hit of converting something that isn't fuel into fuel....)
I can hear the announcements now
"Your departure will be delayed due to the late arrival of the incoming aircraft. It'll take about three hours to recharge."
Assuming SAS is still in business by then
Last I heard they were under bankruptcy protection, and I think some support they received was ruled against by EU.