United Airlines Aims to Use Electric Planes for Short Trips by 2030
United Airlines confirmed on Thursday that it's moving forward with plans to use a fleet of 100 electric planes for short, regional trips by 2030. The first batch of planes will likely fly out of Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Denver International Airport, CNBC reports(Opens in a new window).
United purchased the propeller planes in 2021 from Heart Aerospace(Opens in a new window), a Swedish startup founded in 2018 with a focus on "electrifying regional travel." United also invested in Heart, along with Air Canada, which purchased 30 planes(Opens in a new window) that will enter service by 2028.
The aircraft can travel 124 miles on full electricity from a lithium ion battery. After that, they switch to a hybrid mode to complete a maximum 250-mile flight, according to CNBC. In hybrid mode, the plane emits 50% fewer carbon emissions, according to Anders Forslund, founder and chief executive of Heart Aerospace.
The planes can recharge in as little as 30 minutes, according to Forslund. Between the short flying distances and quick time to "refuel," the planes could potentially open travel to new routes unserved by typical airlines at lower cost.
United initially planned to have the planes in service as soon as 2026(Opens in a new window). That timeline seems to have been pushed back to 2030. Another change: the planes were initially slated to seat 19 passengers in the “ES-19” model, but now they will seat 30(Opens in a new window) on a new model called the "ES-30."
At CNBC’s ESG Impact virtual conference(Opens in a new window) on Thursday, Mike Leskinen, United Airlines Ventures president, spoke about the urgency to reduce carbon emissions from air travel, which account for 10%(Opens in a new window) of
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