Zunum Zooms Out?

Founded by Ashish Kumar a former Googler, Zunum Aero had ambitious plans for its ZA10 hybrid-electric airliner. It would be a gamechanger in aviation: operating at $250 per flight hour with carbon emissions less than 80 per cent of regional aircraft. All that is now over with the company’s two top investors – Boeing and JetBlue – backing out. Does that mean an end to such cutting edge technology in aviation?

Zunum Aero seems to have zoomed to its hibernation. Result: The first flight of its ZA10 hybrid-electric airliner that had been planned towards the end of 2019 will not take place – at all. The 12-seater ZA10 was to be launched by US private charter operator JetSuite. In fact, in May 2018, there was an announcement saying that up to 100 of the aircraft would be added to the operator’s fleet. Ashish Kumar, Zunum Aero’s CEO and a former Google executive had plans to build a larger, 48-seat version called the ZA50, that would reach the market around 2030.

The US startup has been having a hard time with finances. Its prime investors, Boeing and JetBlue, backed out last year and since then, it has been looking for funding. AIN reported that the company had failed to attract investments and consequently, it would not be able to start deliveries of its aircraft that were scheduled from 2022.