Sparks fly across the ditch

Greener skies aren’t just a goal in Australia – here, we take a look at two initiatives by Air New Zealand to advance electrification in the Land of the Long White Cloud.

As companies like Dovetail and AMSL Aero look to gain traction in Australia, on the other side of the Tasman, electric aviation is arguably more advanced, with Air New Zealand backing multiple projects that could reduce its own carbon footprint.

“Sixty per cent of regional flights in New Zealand are less than 350 kilometres, and around 85 per cent of our electricity is renewable – the perfect laboratory for next generation aircraft,” said its new chief executive, Nikhil Ravishankar, last year, as the airline got underway with flight testing for the BETA ALIA CX300. The compact electric aircraft, made by American firm BETA Technologies, was selected by Air New Zealand in 2023 for its Mission Next Gen Aircraft program, with a firm order for at least one of the battery-electric fixed-wing planes, as well as rights to another two and options on a further 20.

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