Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has announced that it will open seat reservations on June 2, 2023, for its first planned commercial electric flights. The airline is expecting the flights to take place in 2028 with one domestic route apiece in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. The cost for a ticket is SEK 1,946 ($180), a number SAS set as a tribute to the year the airline started flying. The airline noted that 30 seats will be available on each flight with ticket fees to be collected 30 days prior to departure.
“Since its inception in 1946, SAS has been one of the pioneers in the airline industry, being for instance the first commercial airline operator to fly over the North Pole to significantly shorten flight time between continents,” said SAS President and CEO Anko van der Werff. “The fact that we can now invite our passengers to the next major milestone in the future of aviation is a natural continuation of that pioneering spirit and a significant step on our journey towards more sustainable aviation.”
SAS stated that it has not yet made a final decision on which aircraft it will be using for the planned flights. Since 2019, the airline has had partnerships with Airbus and Sweden-based Heart Aerospace focusing on low- and zero-emission electric- and hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft. In September 2022, SAS signed a letter of support for the option to add Heart’s 30-passenger electric ES-30 to its regional fleet. The ES-30 is currently in development with the company aiming for it to be certified for commercial flights by 2028.
Wow, to be able to create an all-new passenger airliner (and get it approved in 5 years) is OUTSTANDING!
good luck with that.
How far? How high?
Mike, on December 17 1903 you asked the same of Orville and Wilbur. Remember that?
After 120 years of testing and new technology, we have learned what works (and what has not) for certified passenger airline service. Orville and Wilbur would not be successful in selling their aircraft in the current airliner market either.
What a clever way to finance your vaporware. To quote P T Barnum, “ The common man, no matter how sharp and tough, actually enjoys having the wool pulled over his eyes, and makes it easier for the puller.”
Considering that ticket fares aren’t being collected until 30 days before the flight, how is this financing anything – vapor or not?
Investors. Nothing brightens their eyes and loosens their wallets more than guaranteed revenue ( sorta)!
Vaporware… LOL nailed it John! LOL
The arc of aerospace technology has been towards lighter, stronger aircraft to enable advances in design and capability. This single-criteria fuel source of lithium and other rare earth minerals to make a battery that weighs what it weighs is the antithesis of progress. Imagine if aluminum had been outlawed in the early 20th century and all aircraft had to be made of steel or wood in order to comply with a government mandate. What would aircraft have been? Heavy clunkers powered by enormous engines voraciously consuming fuel. Electric powered aircraft represent such a stifling of creativity in order to be in compliance with the “electric-or-nothing” agenda.
Well said
It must be the season for wild announcements. The Boeing transsonic Twin Otter with Cessna 172 struts got some press yesterday, obscuring that they had also taken over a driverless 4 person electric air taxi company that hadn’t even yet gone through a SPAC to accumulate excess naive investor $$$. The Boeing vision looks a lot like the picture above, but is much bigger. The aircraft above, you notice, has a big cargo pod, which is probably filled with more battery weight than the passenger compartment above will carry.
This seems premature.