United Airlines plans to launch electric planes across the US: this will change the entire aviation industry

One of the toughest questions about reducing greenhouse gas emissions is what to do about aviation. Most commercial aircraft are too heavy to fly on electricity with today's technology. But United Airlines is already talking about how electric aircraft will be part of the airline's future and key to changing the way travelers view aviation. Read more about the innovation told the publication CNBC.

Photo: IStock

The airline has won a contract to buy electric 30-seat aircraft from startup Heart Aerospace, which plans to unveil its prototypes in 2028. Ironically, United's plan is not to replace large aircraft, but to focus on new short-haul aircraft. The airline is also preparing to introduce eVTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) for local operations, such as transporting passengers from central cities to airports.

The idea is not so much to change passenger perceptions, but to persuade small city dwellers traveling 250 miles (400 km) or less by car to take a plane. This was stated by Mike Leskinen, vice president of corporate development and president of the investment division of United Ventures. This will open up a new market for carriers like United, especially outside major metropolitan areas.

“There are many hurdles to overcome, but aerospace development cycles are measured in decades, and we need to start right now,” Leskinen said. “We cannot continue to run and run our business the way we do. It's critical to change it, and we're going to do it by investing in technology."

As EVs and SUVs approach 5% of the new car market in the US and 9% globally, few airlines have made any major moves towards electric aircraft. The sustainability plans being implemented by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines barely mention electric aircraft.

"Engineers can't make an electric battery light and powerful enough to power an airliner the size of today's jet aircraft," said Eliot Lees, vice president and aviation analyst at ICF, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, consulting firm.

United's plan is based on the idea that less than 1% of travelers making a 250-mile trip opt for an airplane.

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“It used to be different,” said Anders Forslund, CEO of Heart Aerospace, a Swedish company in Gothenburg. Let's go back to the 1990s, when there were hundreds of small planes serving many communities. These planes are now out of order."

United and Air Canada also bought shares in Heart Aerospace.

Why small city planes stopped flying

People in small towns have stopped flying because jet engines made for planes are too expensive to serve small towns and make a profit, Forslund said.

“This is great technology, but it's holding us back right now,” he said.

Travelers are unlikely to see any significant difference in the interior of an electric-powered aircraft, Leskinen said. And the ability to quickly service an electric aircraft (only 30 minutes) will allow airlines to use it to work in the sky for 10-11 hours. For consumers, this will result in more flights on the schedule, giving them the flexibility to plan their trip.

“That means the small town will either get services they didn’t have or they will have more frequent service,” Leskinen said. “This will allow every customer from a small town to travel back and forth on the same day, whereas previously you could not do this with a traditional jet.”

A United Airlines executive predicts that within a decade, these electric plans for the airline will become cheaper than traditional jet engines.

“Since we are introducing electric aircraft, I think the cost of 30- or 50-seat models as the industry develops will be lower than the cost of a traditional aircraft,” he suggested.

Other airline plans for climate change

Most airlines' efforts to reduce emissions have centered on plans to redesign the existing fleet by replacing older aircraft with more efficient new models. In addition, airlines, including United, are focusing on investing in sustainable jet fuel startups. The US Department of Energy says cleaner aviation fuel, or SAF, emits "significantly lower" levels of carbon, but not zero, and some SAF technologies under development could result in negative net greenhouse gas emissions.

Delta's stated goal is to replace 10% of fuel with SAF by 2030. The company has partnered with Airbus to study hydrogen-fuelled aircraft, but sees SAF as its main medium-term means of reducing emissions through new technologies.

“We have a multilateral strategy that includes what we can do today, what we can do tomorrow, like investing in SAF and investing in the future,” Fletcher said.

According to its annual Environmental, Social and Governance report, American is also committed to reducing emissions by switching to sustainable fuels. The company plans to convert 2030% of its fuel to SAF by 10 as part of a plan to cut emissions by 45% and reach zero emissions by 2050.

Not even SAFs have yet been created, he said, due to the severe capacity gap the industry is trying to remedy by 2030. The industry received an economic boost from US President Joe Biden's passage of the Climate Act, which is seen as key to providing the financial incentives needed to scale climate startups.

“In August, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act with several aviation-related provisions. One of these is a $1/gallon tax credit for biofuel producers designed to encourage faster construction of SAF plants, and long-term initiatives to accelerate technology, including hydrogen-powered aircraft and carbon dioxide capture to create new, cleaner fuels.” explained the president of the investment division of United Ventures.

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“We have a portfolio of projects in the field of sustainable aviation, and without this law they could not exist due to too high costs,” he said. “There are literally dozens of companies that would not be able to work, but now they are viable startups, and in the coming months you will hear about United Airlines and United Ventures investing in them.”

Early versions of SAF technology will use lipids to be blended with conventional jet fuel, while Fletcher says later versions will rely on carbon capture technology, which will effectively turn some aircraft negative.

ICF predicts that 70% of airline emissions reductions by 2050 will come from switching to SAF, and only 10% from electric (or hydrogen) aircraft. The other 20% is likely to come from improved schedules and fuel-efficient aircraft, Lis said.

Perhaps electric aircraft will serve small markets, hydrogen-powered aircraft will serve medium-sized passenger flights, and SAF-powered jets will serve large airliners.

“Everyone is optimistic about these planes,” Fox said. “The companies that make them are especially optimistic.”

American Airlines has invested in London-based eVTOL Vertical Aerospace.

The company's report says the four-passenger eVTOLs it plans to deploy can carry passengers between cities at speeds of up to 200 miles (321 km) per hour. Chris Wraith, an analyst at New York-based research firm Third Bridge Group, believes the market could be worth $2030 billion by 12 alone.

While the technology is predicted to become mainstream as early as 2024, there are many regulatory and supply chain hurdles. Therefore, such forecasts so far look unlikely.

Just this month, Delta Air Lines invested in Joby Aviation and ordered 100 Archer electronic vertical runways.

But United believes that the impact of this technology on flights will be less, although it can make the flight from a large metropolitan area to a small city completely carbon-free.

“eVTOL will change the way we live and work,” Leskinen assured.

How practical this is depends on both advances in technology and regulators, as well as the rapid establishment of eVTOL take-off and landing sites in cities, Wraith said. The goal is to make eVTOL affordable for about the price of a ride in an Uber Black premium car, but this may require the development and approval of an eVTOL drone.

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