An airplane called Alice could reshape regional travel as we know it, according to Israeli-based electric aircraft maker Eviation that is building the first of its all-electric passenger aircraft in France.
The all-electric aircraft will carry up to 9 passengers, have a range of up to 1,000kms, and allow air travel providers to offer flights between regional centres, rather than through a central, city hub.
APAC business development lead Ron Hoffman gave a briefing about the proposal on Friday at the Australian Electric Vehicle Association conference in Brisbane.
He says the maintenance and power costs of Alice’s emissions-free engine (presuming it’s charged with renewables) are around 30 per cent of conventional aircraft, which can cost $300 per flight hour for aviation fuel and $200 per flight hour for maintenance.
This means that tickets would be much, much cheaper.
“The price will be comparable to a train and faster than driving [for] hours in a car,” Hoffman tells The Driven.
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