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.
Active as a journalist since 1987, with a background in newspapers, magazines, and a regional news station, Richard has been covering commercial aviation on a freelance basis since late 2016.
Richard is contributing to AirInsight since December 2018. He also writes for Airliner World, Aviation News, Piloot & Vliegtuig, and Luchtvaartnieuws Magazine. Twitter: @rschuur_aero.
