A Washington-based startup, Zunum Aero, that is backed by both JetBlue and Boeing, is looking to introduce a fleet of flying electric planes by the early 2020s.
Zunum Aero has already unveiled its plans for electric planes that are able to seat 10 to 50 people. They hope that their models might transform the industry within just a few years.
For now Zunum is still a tiny company with only a handful of employees and they've only been around for a few years and just recently went public. But despite being small, they've got big plans to revolutionize the travel market.
One of their goals is also to make flying much cheaper and much faster for consumers.
The startup is funded by the HorizonX innovation venture fund from Boeing, and by JetBlue Technology Ventures. The company is said to be looking toward utilizing regional airports as opposed to the hub airports that are currently serving the majority of consumers looking to travel.
There are only about 136 hub airports, compared to the 5,000 regional airports throughout the US.
This means that from all of the total airports available, only about 2 percent of them are being used at the moment to handle 96 percent of the travel need in the market.
The planes they are looking to fly are going to be able to travel up to 700 miles, using a hybrid gas-electric system. And they will be able to go as far as 1,000 miles by 2030 they hope. They also plan to improve on security services and eventually streamline the entire process of flying so that passengers can board within minutes.
Allowing more passengers to use regional airports will help them to cut down on their travel time because much of the travel time that passengers invest today is done when they are driving long distances to major airports.
The ultimate goal is for the Zunum plane to be equipped with an entirely electric thrust system; all of the power from batteries.
It will have the ability to be switched over and run from a fuel-powered generator. Though it is expected that for much shorter flights that most airlines will opt for using only electric power.
They have been working with the FAA for several years already to try and sort out the process of certification. They expect to meet those standards and have their planes come to market by 2020.
Pics:
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Source:
https://www.fastcompany.com/40401803/this-startup-backed-by-jetblue-and-boeing-plans-on-flying-electric-planes-by-the-early-2020s
https://www.cnet.com/news/electric-planes-backed-by-jetblue-boeing-could-make-travel-cheaper/
http://www.theverge.com/2017/4/5/15177374/zunum-aero-electric-jet-startup-stealth-boeing-jetblue
http://www.geekwire.com/2017/zunum-aero-stealth-hybrid-electric-planes/