Story by ANDREW KACIMAIWAI
Pictures and video supplied
Air New Zealand is adding an electric, crewed postal aircraft to its fleet under the airline’s Mission Next Gen Aircraft program.
Designed by Vermont-based electric aerospace company BETA Technologies, the battery-powered ALIA aircraft is expected to join Air NZ’s fleet in 2026.
Air NZ says it has a firm order for one aircraft with options for two more aircraft and rights for another 20 aircraft.
(The announcement follows recent successful trials involving uncrewed aircraft flying through controlled airspace flown by crewed aircraft. Click her https://tasmanaircraft.com/2023/12/05/uncrewed-aircraft-fly-safely-in-controlled-airspace-during-nz-trials/ for story).
Air NZ will buy a conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) version of the ALIA (there is a VTOL version) and follows an 18-month period of evaluation and diligence.
Through its Mission Next Gen Aircraft program, the airline contacted 30 organisations and chose four partners to work to launch commercial flights with next generation aircraft in 2026; the ALIA is the first commercial order in the program.
Air NZ will initially operate the aircraft as a cargo-only service in partnership with NZ Post on a route to be selected through an expressions of interest (EOI) process with airports across the country.
Air NZ Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran described the purchase as “a small but important step in a much larger journey” for the airline.
“There is a lot of work ahead of us, but we are incredibly committed, and this purchase marks a new chapter for the airline,” he said.
“Decarbonising aviation isn’t easy and we have a lot of work to do. We need to accelerate the pace of change in the technology, infrastructure, operations and regulation.
“While this aircraft will add to, not replace our existing fleet, it is a catalyst for that change. By flying the ALIA, we hope to advance our knowledge and the transformation needed in the aviation system in Aotearoa for us to fly larger, fleet replacing, next generation aircraft from 2030.”
BETA Chief Executive Officer Kyle Clark applauded Air NZ’s approach to decarbonising aviation.
“Air New Zealand is hyper-focused on bringing technologies to scale as quickly as possible, both to meet its own ambitions to decarbonise and to change the broader aviation landscape,” he said.
“Over the past year plus of partnership, collaboration, and diligence, we’ve seen Air New Zealand’s forward-thinking, yet pragmatic and methodical approach to innovation.”
“We are gratified by the airline’s confidence in our technology as a solution that will meet their operational needs and look forward to continuing to work hand-in-hand as we bring the ALIA to market for 2026.”
The ALIA has flown over 480km in one flight in testing; for Air NZ’s initial flights, routes of around 150km in length will be considered.
The ALIA will likely fly at lower altitudes of between 1500 to 3000 metres. The aircraft weighs three tonnes, is just over 12 metres long and has a speed of up to 270km an hour.
A full charge of the battery is anticipated to take 40-60 minutes.
The aircraft will only make its service debut once it has passed testing and is certified by the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority.
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