Alia, the electric plane from Beta Technologies, landed in Montreal on Wednesday. This is a first for this type of device in Quebec. The American company, which opened a Montreal branch last spring, hopes to revolutionize the aviation and delivery sector.
“This is the first flight of a fully electric plane to Montreal,” said Kyle Clark, the founder and CEO of Beta Technologies, on Thursday, in front of an audience of people from the industry who came to celebrate the occasion.
The plane with a structure “inspired by the Arctic Tern” and a wingspan of approximately 15 meters took off from Plattsburgh International Airport in New York, and traveled 55 km for approximately 30 minutes, before land in Montreal.
The electric plane that landed in Montreal is of the CTOL type – that is to say it takes off and lands like a conventional plane. “It’s a model that can be converted into a VTOL, by adding propellers,” explains Mr. Clark. Such a device takes off and lands vertically, like a helicopter.
“The difference between the two is that the first requires airport infrastructure, while the second can land directly at the warehouse of a factory for example, which can save transport and logistics costs,” explains -he.
Haulage
Alia can accommodate six people on board, including the pilot and co-pilot, but it is not tomorrow that passengers will be able to board this type of aircraft, which is still in its testing phase to become certified. “We want to enter the market gradually. We are first targeting the air freight transport market,” explains Mr. Clark.
“The transport of packages will be authorized before we can transport passengers in air taxis. But when this is allowed, we will have a head start because we will already have a fleet and flight experience,” indicates the entrepreneur.
His company, based in Burlington, Vermont – where he himself comes from – was founded in 2017. Last March, Beta Technologies set up an engineering center in Quebec. It is located in Dorval, very close to the Montreal-Trudeau international airport and already has around 70 employees.
For Mélanie Lussier, CEO of the AéroMontréal organization, which represents Quebec’s aerospace cluster, this is a guarantee of recognition of the metropolis as a pole of innovation in the “advanced air mobility” sector. .
“Our strength is our pool of expertise. We have talents, schools, dedicated programs…” argues Ms. Lussier, who is working to have Montreal recognized as an aerospace innovation zone.
Amazon and UPS bet on Beta
Beta Technologies is already attracting the attention of large companies. The Vermont company notably counts Amazon, the online commerce juggernaut, as a shareholder.
The delivery company UPS has already placed an order for up to 150 devices with Beta Technologies in 2021. At the time of signing, the first 10 devices were to be delivered in 2024.
“It’s still relevant,” says Mr. Clark, adding that the planes will be deployed in the United Arab Emirates. “We already have pre-certification operating licenses in several places around the world, including there,” he says.
The price of an Alia plane costs between $3.5 million and $6 million, Clark said. “It is also important to consider the operating costs of such an aircraft, which are almost half those of a gasoline-powered aircraft. After three or four years, the purchase pays for itself,” argues the entrepreneur.