First passengers board new electric aircraft
Beta Technologies demonstrates Alia in New York
Electric aircraft manufacturer Beta Technologies conducted its first demonstration flight with passengers on June 3. During what the company called the first landing of an advanced air mobility flight at a New York City airport, Beta’s Alia fixed-wing aircraft, which operates conventionally from runways, touched down at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The occasion also marked Beta’s first demonstration flight with passengers. Four people, including Matt Koscal, president of Republic Airways, and Rob Wiesenthal, CEO of Blade Air Mobility, accompanied the single pilot, Beta said.
Wiesenthal added, “This electric aircraft flight from Long Island to New York City highlights that quiet and emission-free flight is quickly becoming a reality benefiting Blade’s fliers, local residents, and other key stakeholders.”
Beta, which has worked on developing the necessary infrastructure for electric aircraft, including a growing network of charging stations at airports, is also testing an electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL, version of its Alia aircraft. The conventional, or eCTOL, model that landed at JFK is part of the company’s plan to focus first on fixed-wing cargo operations from airports, followed later by passenger and eVTOL transport.
“Flying our electric aircraft into one of the world’s busiest airports, with passengers, proves advanced air mobility is not some future concept, it’s here,” said Beta Technologies founder and CEO Kyle Clark. “Today’s flight is about more than technology; it’s about innovation and connecting communities in safer, quieter, and more efficient ways.”
Beta arranged the flight in partnership with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The agency has been working with several companies on developing and testing clean-energy transportation systems.
“The Port Authority has long positioned itself as a testbed for the transportation technologies of tomorrow, and this historic flight is the latest example of how we’re working to bring innovation into real-world infrastructure,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole. “We’re excited about the potential for innovations like advanced air mobility to ease regional travel while reducing emissions and noise pollution. We’re proud to embrace innovation and help lay the groundwork for a more efficient and environmentally friendly future of flight.”
Beta has said it expects to receive FAA certification of its eCTOL aircraft next year, with the eVTOL version to follow.
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