Air New Zealand orders BETA demonstrator to ready for operations
Air New Zealand has added an Alia CTOL technical demonstrator aircraft and several charging solutions to its existing order with BETA Technologies.
Air New Zealand will receive the aircraft in 2025, which gives six months to the pilot and maintenance teams, as well as the route planning, operations and ground support teams to familiarise. The airline plans to begin commercial operations in 2026.
Specifically, the demonstrator aircraft will enable baseline training, such as flight training and abnormal procedures familiarisation.
The company has also added chargers to its order, including one of BETA’s Charge Cubes which will be permanently installed at Air New Zealand’s base in Aotearoa and several of BETA’s mobile chargers.
Kiri Hannifin, Air New Zealand’s chief corporate affairs and sustainability officer said: “This future is one where we can fulfil our purpose to connect New Zealanders but with a much lower emissions – something we are deeply committed to expediting as quickly as we can to help meet our 2050 net zero carbon emissions target.
“A number of our Air New Zealand pilots will have the opportunity to learn to operate the aircraft alongside BETA pilots,” Hannifin added. “This not only allows them to gain experience on a completely new type of aircraft, but it will also guide the airline’s work to develop the processes and policies required to operate the aircraft commercially in 2026.”
Last year Air New Zealand announced it had selected BETA from a list of 30 OEMs as the first company it would buy an electric aircraft from. Since then it has made the decision to begin initial operations with NZ Post, carrying cargo between Wellington and Blenheim between the north and south islands.
“We have been very impressed with the practical, operations-focused approach Air New Zealand has taken from the very beginning of this process,” said Kyle Clark, BETA’s founder and CEO. “They have leaned all the way in, working with us step by step to set solid foundations across every part of the ecosystem to ensure successful entry into service. The Tech Demonstrator and chargers will allow us to collect data and refine the operations so Air New Zealand can hit the ground running with low-cost electric service upon delivery of their first certified aircraft.”
