Planned for 2022 EIS, JetSuite has expressed interest in up to 100 aircraft from Zunum Aero. These aircraft will be 12-seaters.
Zunuum is backed by JetBlue and Boeing. In aircraft battery packs are located in the wing and are relied on to power the aircraft. The plane’s rear fuselage can be used to store either a third battery pack, making the aircraft fully electric. For JetSuite a range extender is used by adding a gas turbine coupled with a generator that creates electricity to power the plane’s electric motors, said Ashish Kumar, chief executive of Zunum. The plane’s computer system calculates when the turbogenerator will need to turn on during flight, he said. The hybrid plane’s range is 700 miles and it has a maximum cruise speed of 340 mph.
“We share Zunum’s vision for hybrid to electric aviation,” JetSuite founder and CEO Alex Wilcox said in a statement. “With this partnership, we expect to bring ever more efficient and environmentally friendly aviation solutions to our private and semi-private jet customers.” Zunum claims the aircraft has a hybrid-electric range of 700 miles, with 80% lower emissions and noise, a maximum cruise speed of 340 miles per hour and a direct cost of 8 cents per seat mile, or $250 per hour for the plane.
As we can see from the map offered by Zunum, the disruption is for short routes. JetSuite sees the potential for this aircraft to compete with Uber on short routes.
Here we can see the start of what might happen as two disruptive companies get together. This is truly exciting.
here is an interview with JetSuite’s Alex Wilcox we did in 2011 when they launched the Phenom 100.
