JetBlue-Backed Zunum Plans to Produce a Small Hybrid-Electric Plane by 2022
Photo Credit: Zunum Aero said Thursday it expects to deliver its first 12-seat hybrid- electric plane by 2022. JetBlue and Boeing are investors. Zunum Aero
Skift Take
Don't let recent news fool you. This is a promising development, but we're still far from a world in which a substantial number of passengers fly on a hybrid-electric plane.
A hybrid-to-electric aircraft manufacturer supported by JetBlue Airways and Boeing said Thursday it expects to deliver planes to customers by 2022.
But don't expect JetBlue — or any other larger U.S. airline — to adopt the new technology so soon. This aircraft, developed by a Washington state-based company called Zunum Aero, is in its early stages, and it has some limitations.
The first-generation plane announced Thursday by Zunum will seat no more than 12 passengers. And it'll fly as fast as 340 mph with a range of 700 miles. The technology is promising, but Zunum has not announced any orders.
Zunum executives suggest the aircraft could be useful for smaller commericial airlines now flying the smallest turboprops. That might put in play a carrier like Cheyenne, Wyoming-based Great Lakes Airlines, which flies some nine-seat Beec
