Scottish airline lines up five electric aircraft for regional hops

Loganair signed an MoU to buy five BETA ALIA CX300 electric aircraft, aiming to fly them on scheduled routes from 2029.

Loganair, a Scottish regional carrier, has signed a memorandum of understanding to buy five ALIA CX300 electric aircraft from BETA Technologies, with an option for five more. If it follows through, Loganair could become the first commercial airline in Europe to run fully electric aircraft on scheduled routes, with passenger and cargo service planned to start in 2029.

The CX300 is designed around infrastructure that already exists. It uses conventional runways rather than vertiports, and BETA's fast chargers refill it in 20 to 40 minutes. The aircraft was tested across Loganair's network in March, flying 23 times over ten days between Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness, Wick and Kirkwall. Those flights averaged 56 miles at 99 knots and 1.37 kWh per nautical mile, and included Royal Mail postal routes to remote communities.

The abundance case rests on cost. Loganair's chief executive expects the CX300 to cut operating costs by about 80 percent, which would make short-hop connections to thin, isolated markets far cheaper to sustain. Electric propulsion also removes fuel burn from the routes that currently keep remote islands connected.

What to watch: certification of the CX300 is the gating step before any 2029 launch, and this remains an MoU rather than a firm order. The 80 percent savings figure is an estimate from initial trials, not yet proven in regular service. BETA is separately building CCS charging at over 250 US sites by 2030, while Airbus advances a hybrid-electric project in Germany.

Source: CleanTechnica