SURF AIR secures early delivery of 90 ELECTRA HYBRIDELECTRIC AIRCRAFT

On 15 February US Commuter and General Aviation group, Surf Air announced that it has secured early delivery slots for 90 Electra hybrid-electric aircraft. The aircraft will not only go to Surf Air's own airlines, Southern Airways and Mokulele Airlines, but could also be leased to other operators under what the firm calls 'aircraft-as-a-service' programme. The latter is, in essence, a turnkey leasing scheme designed to meet the needs of Part 135 operators, which are small local and regional airlines with often limited access to the services of more traditional aircraft lessors.

Surf Air and Electra will extend their collaboration to the development of analytical systems that will streamline the operations of the hybrid-electric fleet. In parallel to this, Surf Air will continue to invest in another project to electrify its Cessna Caravan fleet at scale. Surf Air has partnered with aircraft maker Textron Aviation, which produces the Cessna aircraft family. Surf Air is also a partner of REGENT, a startup developing electrically powered wing-inground vehicles, a type of flying craft that moves a few meters over water at speeds of up to 180 miles per hour. Orders have been trickling in for Electra’s nine-seater short take-off and landing (eSTOL) aircraft, which, in addition to promising low emission flights thanks to its hybrid-electric propulsion, is also capable of operating from short runways.

In January 2023, Electra’s pre-order book reached the 2,000 mark after signing orders of intent with JetSetGo, an Indian operator, for 50 aircraft and Finland’s Lygg for 300 aircraft. US operator JSX also placed an order for 82 of Electra’s hybrid-electric aircraft (32 firm orders and 50 options) in December 2023.

Thrust for hybrid electric flying

Several Fraunhofer Institutes and the Brandenburg Technical University Cottbus-Senftenberg, under the leadership of Rolls-Royce Germany and other partners such as the research institution ACCESS, are collaborating on the future of hybrid electric flying. Supported by the state of Brandenburg and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, the partners are researching an entirely new propulsion system for medium-range aircraft with up to 35 passengers.