A while back I mentioned there was development proceeding on electric jets. Now an airline has decided to get involved, as reported by CNN:
Major European carrier EasyJet announced Wednesday that it is teaming up with U.S. startup Wright Electric to build an all-electric airliner.
The aircraft they have in mind would handle short routes of 335 miles or less — think New York to Boston or London to Paris.
EasyJet, a budget airline that specializes in shorter flights, said the new aircraft would cover 20% of its passenger journeys.
The airline said it has been working closely with Wright Electric this year and it hopes to have an electric commercial aircraft flying in the next decade.
Less pollution, especially at altitude, where there is a unique set of vulnerabilities. But will the new jets be comparable in terms of safety?
Sami Grover on Treehugger.com is less than enthusiastic:
That said, it’s important to note a fairly major caveat: The routes they are currently talking about are London to Paris, or Edinburgh to Bristol, both of which have regular, direct rail services that—when electrified and run efficiently—would have significantly lower emissions than launching a heavy metal tube full of people into the atmosphere at high speed.
Still, I don’t see airplanes going away anytime soon. So I suspect we should welcome this ambitious move. I just hope it doesn’t blunt the momentum from planes to trains that the UK has seen in recent years.
