Electra's nine-passenger eSTOL aircraft will be able to operate from a 300-foot runway. (Image: Electra)
BUSINESS AVIATION
Charter
Group Welojets Plans To Operate Electra eSTOL
by Charles Alcock
- October 18, 2022, 12:00 PM
Charter operator Welojets this week joined a growing list of
prospective customers for Electra’s hybrid-electric eSTOL aircraft, signing a
letter of intent for 32 of the model. Announcing the deal on Tuesday
at NBAA-BACE, the Virginia-based startup said its provisional order
book now runs to 1,000 aircraft with a combined value of $3 billion, which
would imply a list price of $3 million.
Electra’s customer base spans regional airlines, urban air mobility
providers, charter groups, helicopter operators, and emergency medical support
providers based in the U.S., Latin America, Europe, Southeast Asia, and
Australia. These include Bristow Group, Flyv, Ebird, Harbour Air, Tailwind Air,
Ravn Alaska, MintAir, Events Air Cargo, Flapper, Yugo, Gold Aviation, Skyportz,
Northwest Seaplanes, and the El Azufre resort.
Welojets, which operates a fleet of business aircraft in Europe and the
Americas, said its interest in the eSTOL aircraft is part of a plan to
develop new markets in a more sustainable way. Its employees are spread across
20 locations.
Electra
chief product officer Marc Ausman (right) and Welojets founder Alfredo Lisdero
sign a letter of intent at the NBAA-BACE show. (Image: Electra)
Electra (Booth 2400C) now says its model will be able to carry up to
nine passengers or 2,500 pounds of freight on sectors of up to around 400 nm.
With its short-takeoff-and-landing performance, it will be able to operate from
no more than 300 feet of runway and cruise at 175 knots. The company expects to
be ready to start test flights with a two-seat technology demonstrator by
year-end.
“Welojets fully embraces the electric aviation revolution and we are
thrilled to work on Electra to deliver cleaner and cost-effective flights to
our customers,” said company president Alfredo Lisdero. “We plan to fly
the Electra eSTOL aircraft into existing airports as well as use it to expand
our operations into new markets that cannot be served currently with
traditional fixed-wing aircraft. Thanks to the Electra aircraft’s cost and
performance advantages, we see many opportunities to grow our services
throughout Europe and Latin America.”
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