Aura Aero builds the backlog for its hybrid-electric ERA

You have Airbus and ATR based in Toulouse, but actually, there is another airframer in the southern French town: Aura Aero. It might not be known that well outside France, but during last week’s Paris Airshow

, the start-up generated plenty of publicity for its hybrid-electric aircraft with the national and international media. Not the least when President Emmanuel Macron visited on Monday, followed by Minister of Interior Affairs, Gerald Darmanin, on Thursday. Aura Aero builds the backlog for its hybrid-electric ERA.

Aura Aero is keen to enter the market for electric regional aircraft that is also targeted by Heart Aerospace, Eviation, and Dutch start-up Maeve. Aura has been developing the 19-seater ERA since the company was founded in 2018. The ERA was only present as a model aircraft on Aura’s static display in Paris, where the full-electric Integral E two-seater trainer aircraft was unveiled on Wednesday.

Aura Aero claims to have Letters of Intent for some 330 ERAs, although the first aircraft will only fly by the end of 2026. Its press release mentions 2028 as the year of entering commercial service. But Wilfried Dufaud, co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Aura Aero, told AirInsight that certification, EIS, and first deliveries are more likely just before 2030.