Partnership aims to advance hybrid-electric aviation in UK

Heart ES-30 Loganair

Heart Aerospace, a Swedish hybrid-electric aircraft manufacturer, and Loganair, a UK-based regional airline, have announced a new and exclusive partnership aimed at decarbonising regional air travel in the UK. As part of the agreement, the two companies will exclusively collaborate on establishing use-cases for hybrid electric aircraft within Loganair’s extensive Scottish and UK network. Loganair, headquartered at Glasgow Airport, primarily operates domestic flights within the UK where it is the largest regional airline by passenger numbers and fleet size.

At the centre of this collaboration is the ES-30, a hybrid-electric aircraft being developed by Heart Aerospace. With the capacity to carry up to 30 passengers, the ES-30 has the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions while offering cost-effective and accessible air travel.

Simon Newitt, president and CCO of Heart Aerospace, said: “Loganair has been a champion of regional aviation for decades, and we are thrilled to partner with it to bring cleaner air travel to the UK. This collaboration is an important step in our mission to make air travel more sustainable and we look forward to bringing clean and convenient solutions to Loganair in support of its ambitious goal to achieve ‘net zero’ emissions across its operations by 2040.”

‘Greener’ future
As part of the partnership, Heart and Loganair will work together to look at use cases for the ES-30 as well as engaging with the Scottish and UK governments and airports, to promote and highlight the benefits of this innovative form of propulsion. Loganair will also join Heart Aerospace’s Industry Advisory Board, which consists of airlines, governments, leasing companies, and airports from all over the world, committed to support the electrification of air travel.

Luke Farajallah, CEO of Loganair, said: “This is a significant moment for Loganair and for the future of sustainable UK regional flying. This exclusive collaboration with Heart Aerospace brings together two organisations who share a passion to see aviation emissions reduce in a realistic and meaningful way, and we definitely see the ES-30 as being a strong contender to emerge as one of the leaders in this space. At Loganair we are very proud of our environmental work and achievements to date and we see this as the next logical step along the path to a ‘greener’ future for UK regional aviation.”

The ES-30 will have a fully electric zero emissions range of 200km, an extended hybrid range of 400km with 30 passengers and flexibility to fly up to 800km with 25 passengers, all including typical airline reserves. Heart Aerospace has a total of 250 firm orders for the ES-30, with options and purchase rights for an additional 120 aeroplanes. The company also has letters of intent for a further 191.