Air New Zealand has flown across Cook Strait, sans fuel, having successfully completed the crossing on Wed using BETA Technologies’ electric demonstrator aircraft the ALIA CX300.
The successful test is a milestone in the national carrier’s mission to get electric air craft flying within New Zealand, with gm strategy, networks and fleet Baden Smith saying it’s been a fantastic few months of proving flights in the North Island. “We’re now entering the next phase of the program, with the aircraft beginning daily Cook Strait crossings between Wellington and Blenheim,” he adds.
This phase will run through Feb, and has been very much welcomed by Marlborough, with its airport’s ceo Dean Heiford saying yesterday’s test flight was a big day for a small airport. “We’ve spent months with Wellington Airport and NZ to understand the practical requirements of hosting an electric aircraft,” he says. “This is just the beginning, and we’re excited to see what the future holds.”
Heiford adds that they are looking forward to sharing their learnings with other regional airports about hosting an electric aircraft.
“It’s early days, but this is a first step in understanding the transition that we’ll need to take as a regional airport looking to the future of aviation”.
