LONDON – The recent headline maker, the Heart Aerospace ES-30 electric powered aircraft with a hybrid reserve system, has gotten yet another LOI, this time from Portuguese airline Sevenair. The ES-30 has seen a lot of attention in the aviation news lately, with LOI’s coming from major airlines such as SAS and Air Canada.

Yet another LOI for Heart Aerospace

The highly interesting regional commuter aircraft, the ES-30, has received yet another Letter of Intent (LOI), from Portuguese airline Sevenair, which serves as a regional airline specialising in public transport and wet lease contracts. It currently operates seven routes in Portugal, all of which can be covered by the ES-30 aircraft.

Chief Commercial Officer of Sevenair, Alexandre Alves, commented on the LOI saying: “We believe the ES-30 will be a game changer for the short distance regional flights offering low noise and no emissions.”

“These features combined with the possibility of decreasing operating costs heavily impacted by fuel and maintenance will allow any airline operating the aircraft to offer new routes that before were not viable and expand the regional air connectivity to a broader spectrum of passengers,”

The latest interest from Sevenair, totals the ES-30 orders up to 230 orders and 100 options for the ES-30, along with LOIs for a further 99 airplanes.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Heart Aerospace, Anders Forslund, said: “With the ES-30, we have designed an airplane that can start cutting emissions from regional air travel before the end of this decade and it is progressive airlines such as Sevenair that make it a reality. We couldn’t be happier to have them as a partner,”

Chief Executive of Sevenair, Carlos Amaro, also commented, saying: “Heart Aerospace presented itself to us as a start-up company that combined a strong financial backup with an experienced team and strong industry partners. As members of the Airline Advisory Board we are proud to assist this amazing group in the development of an aircraft that will completely disrupt regional flights,”

Major orders from major carriers

SAS (SK) and Air Canada (AC) also made headlines in the aviation world with their orders and LOI’s of the aircraft type.

To further digress, on September 15, Scandinavian carrier SAS (SK), signed a Letter of Support with Gothenburg based aerospace engineers, Heart Aerospace, with the option to add multiple of the companies new ES-30 aircraft, to the SAS (SK) regional fleet.

This has the potential to be a major step in SAS’s journey for more sustainable air travel, enabling zero-emission flights on routes within Scandinavia.

President & CEO of the SAS Group, Anko van der Werff, said on the announcement: ”Together with the entire industry, we have the responsibility to make air travel more sustainable.”

“SAS is dedicated to transforming aviation so that coming generations can continue connecting the world and enjoy the benefits of travel – but with a more sustainable footprint. The letter of support with Heart Aerospace is an important step in that direction.”

As for Air Canada (AC), President and CEO of Air Canada, Michael Rousseau, said the following on their agreement with Heart Aerospace, earlier this year: “Air Canada has taken a leadership position in the industry to address climate change. The introduction into our fleet of the ES-30 electric regional aircraft from Heart Aerospace will be a step forward to our goal of net zero emissions by 2050.”

He also adds: “Already, Air Canada is supporting the development of new technologies, such as sustainable aviation fuels and carbon capture, to address climate change.”

“We are now reinforcing our commitment by investing in revolutionary electric aircraft technology, both as a customer for the ES-30 and as an equity partner in Heart Aerospace.”

Overall

It seems the ES-30 program is being headhunted by multiple carriers now, as the project seems like a promising one in the hunt for sustainable aviation and air travel, as shows the enormous number of interests and orders.

Although the ES-30 is not an all-electric aircraft, it does see the possibility for range increases as battery technology evolves with the coming years. However, the hybrid reserve is a possible factor as to why the aircraft seems promising.