The Allplane Podcast: Recent Episodes
Allplane
The Allplane Podcast is all about commercial aviation and air travel. Every episode features an aviation professional that opens up for the audience a different aspect of the aviation industry.
Josef Kallo is a true sustainable aviation pioneer. He was already working on hydrogen-powered aircraft back in 2013, when few outside a small circle had heard about sustainable aviation or alternative propulsion technologies.
Fast forward to 2021 and H2FLY, the company he has been leading for over a decade, made headlines after being acquired by Joby Aviation, one of the forerunners in the advanced air mobility race.
During all this time, H2FLY has been steadily and quietly making strides in the field of hydrogen propulsion and, in September 2023, it made history be being the first to fly an aircraft on liquid hydrogen, a technology that poses some interesting technology challenges.
What is H2FLY currently working on? What is the future of hydrogen-powered aviation? What role is H2FLY going to play in also powering the eVTOL revolution?
Tune in for an in-depth conversation with one of the world’s leading experts in hydrogen aviation, Josef Kallo!
Payments are an essential element of the airline business and one that is often overlooked by most people.
But, have you considered the tech required by any international carrier to handle thousands of payments from all over the world, smoothly and instantly?
In this episode, produced in partnership with CellPoint Digital, we delve into the topic of airline payments tech.
Diego Pérez, VP Business Development for Latin America and CellPoint Digital, shares some insights about the different elements involved in an airline payment. He also explains what is payment orchestration, and why it matters if you wish to offer multiple payment methods to your customers.
Diego will also share his experience working in the Latin American markets, a region of the world that stands out in the use of alternative payments, that is using methods and channels different from the classical credit card payment. This is also becoming increasingly relevant for airlines in other parts of the world, as Gen Z travellers show a preference for a diversity of payment methods.
So, tune in to learn more about the trends that shifting the payment landscape and how technology is providing answers to them!
Kanika Tekriwal is the co-founder and CEO of JetSetGo, a company that has emerged, over the course of the last decades, as the major integrated executive aviation operator in India. JetSetGo provides a whole range of services in one of the world’s most promising air travel markets, from operating its own private jet fleet, to MRO and charter services.
The MEBAA executive aviation show, which took place in Dubai in December 2024 provided an excellent opportunity to catch up with Kanika (apologies beforehand for the sound quality, since this episode was recorded at the MEBAA venue!) and learn not just about the state of executive aviation in India, but also about a number of exciting innovative technologies which JetSetGo is planning to invest in.
JetSetGo recently placed a substantial order for electrically-powered, ultra-short take off and landing (ultra STOL) aircraft from Electra.aero, of the US, and it is also evaluating the possibility of adding eVTOLs to its portfolio, with the intention of becoming an advanced air mobility pioneer in India.
As you will realize during this conversation, in addiiton to being a successful entrepreneur, Kanika is absolutely passionate about the aviation industry and has a clear and ambitious goal to take JetSetGo to new heights!
So, tune in for this impromptu, but also quite insightful and inspirational conversation with Kanika Tekriwal, of JetSetGo. It was a lot of fun!
Joshua Ng is a Director at Alton Aviation Consultancy, which, at the name implies, is a global consultancy firm serving the aviation industry with actionable analysis, advice and recommendations.
Being based in Singapore, Joshua has a rather advantageous viewpoint on the sustainable aviation developments taking place across the Asia-Pacific region, a part of the world that has the capacity to move the needle when it comes to decarbonizing the skies.
This is a matter that generates plenty of headlines, but if we look beyond the buzz, what are the most pressing concerns that occupy the minds of decision makers? Which technologies does Alton Aviation Consultancy see as the most likely winners in the transition towards sustainability? What are the perspectives for advanced air mobility in Asia? What is the expected role of China in all of this?
Together with Joshua, we try to answer all of these questions in an episode of the podcast you can’t miss if interested in this very dynamic part of the world!
Things we talk about in this episode
Ian Brooke’s background and story as an entrepreneur from an early age
What is Astro Mechanica and how it got started
What is an electric adaptive jet engine and how does it work
What are the potential applications of the electric adaptive jet engine
Astro Mechanica’s acceptance into Y Combinator, the famous Silicon Valley startup acceleration programme
Where is Astro Mechanica at the moment and what are its next milestones
Vertical Aerospace is one of the world’s leading advanced air mobility developers, at least when it comes to its order book.
Some 1,500 units of its VX4 eVTOL aircraft have already been pre-ordered (including a 500 aircraft order from Avolon, which the lessor then managed to place in a matter of months with a handful of airlines), but before that, Vertical Aerospace will have to complete a thorough a comprehensive testing and certification process.
And no one better placed to talk precisely about this than our guest on this episode: Michael Cervenka, Chief Technology Officer at Vertical Aerospace.
Michael is an industry veteran, who, prior to joining Vertical Aerospace, worked for quite a few years at that other flagship of British aerospace industry, Rolls-Royce.
We recorded this conversation as Vertical Aerospace was preparing for a key step in its development process: its first piloted untethered flight. So, we talked with Michael in full detail about this ongoing testing programme, its current status and the challenges that lie ahead.
And, then, of course, we discussed in detail other aspects of Vertical Aerospace’s plans , such as its value proposition, its industrial plan, which, unlike other eVTOL developers, involves a whole ecosystem of partners working together.
There was also time to discuss financial and commercial aspects of the project and even some little known aspects of the project, such as the main differences between an eVTOL and a helicopter or why prototypes are painted white.
So, tune in for an in-depth conversation about one of the most fascinating eVTOL projects in the world right now!
The decarbonization of the aviation industry will require huge amounts of investment.
If we focus on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) alone, the amount of capex that will be required is staggering. Take Europe, for example, that will need over 100 new SAF production plants by 2030 if the aviation industry is to meet the EU’s ambitious SAF adoption plans.
No wonder, then, that some of the most prominent initiatives to channel fresh investment towards this field have come from inside the industry.
The Sustainable Flight Fund, set up by United Airlines through its United Airlines Ventures investment arm, is the largest venture fund in the world dedicated specifically to SAF investment. Interestingly, it is not a single-company effort, since, to back this project, United has assembled a broad coalition of fellow investors from across the commercial aviation ecosystem, including some airlines that are its direct competitors.
Mukul Hariharan, a former airline pilot turned venture capitalist, is the managing partner of United’s Sustainable Flight Fund. He has come to the podcast to talk about it and about its investment philosophy.
So, tune in, for a short but interesting conversation with one of the main players in the SAF investment scene!
Right as the commercial aviation industry gears up for the 2024 edition of the Farnborough Air Show, I got on Zoom with Jon Sindreu, one of the top journalists out there that knows the industry best.
Perhaps because, in addition to his strong focus on aviation, Jon covers also range of sectors through the popular “Heard on the Streat” section on the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), he is able to offer a no-nonsense view from outside the aviation industry bubble.
So, my idea for this episode was to review, together with Jon, some of the key macro trends that are shaping the commercial aviation industry: the future of the OEM duopoly, increasing consolidation in the European airline sector and, very importantly, the race to decarbonize the industry.
Is there going to be enough SAF around to comply with the different governmental and EU mandates? How to get more SAF to the market fast? And, last but not least, is advanced air mobility the disruptive technology that we are being told it will be or is it all just hype?
If you are looking for a fresh and outspoken voice on these matters you will possibly like Jon’s very straightforward talk.
So, join us in this conversation in which we try to leave no stone unturned!
As Europe is trying to get people off planes and into trains out of environmental concerns, Dr. Klaus Radermacher stands out as a contrarian voice.
We are calculating it wrong!…says this engineer and consultant, who, in the last few years has taken a keen interest in the topic of sustainable mobility.
Is the train really a better alternative to the plane? Which mode of transportation is most efficient over short, medium and long distances? Should we keep building more high speed rail infrastructure to get people to fly less? These are some of the questions that Dr. Radermacher addresses in an episode of the podcast rich in facts and data.
The conclusions Dr. Radermacher reached after applying his analytical framework to this consequential debate may not please everyone. They provide, however, a valuable viewpoint that should be taken into account if we wish to make the best possible use of the available resources to tackle one of the most pressing issues we face as a society.
This was a long, but fascinating conversation, to the point that we have already agreed on retaking it where we left it some day soon, because there are so many segues and derivations of this line of thought that they could not all fit in a standard episode.
In the meantime, tune in for what is possibly one of the most thought-provoking episodes to date of this podcast!
Sustainability has become a central topic in aviation, but are airlines prepared for this conversation?
Elizabeth Maclean and Mike Evans are the co-founders of Herdwick Communications, a consultancy firm that advises airlines all over the world.
With Elizabeth and Mike we speak about the reputation crisis and public relations storm that the aviation industry is facing in the face of climate change and how airlines should be communicating about sustainability.
What can airlines say when they are being accused of wrecking the climate? How can airlines avoid greenwashing and end up being sued because of overpromising or misrepresenting their sustainability initiatives? Why so many airlines have opted for greenhushing instead?
Elizabeth and Mike share their views on the matter and the basics of the model they have developed to help airlines deal with these increasingly pressing matters.
Check it out!
Landor is, possibly, the creative agency that has designed the most iconic brands in aviation.
British Airways, Alitalia, Singapore Airlines and Etihad are just a few of the big names of the airline industry that have entrusted their public identity to Landor’s creative minds.
On this episode of the podcast we speak with Ryan Frost, Executive Creative Director at Landor, about the attributes of a great airline brand and we dissect what and how three great British airlines that couldn’t be more different between them - British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and easyJet - have chosen to communicate those attributes.
We also take a look at some iconic projects completed by Landor in the past, not just the world-famous BA “Landor livery”, which was for many years almost like an unofficial national symbol of Britain, but also others that have defined an era in airline branding, such as Alitalia’s, its more modern reincarnation in ITA Airways and Etihad Airways.
How often does an airline need to change its livery? How airline brands have adapted to the changing nature of the air travel business over the last few decades?
We will talk about these and some other aspects of airline brand design on today’s episode of the podcast!
Our guest in this episode is Billy Thalheimer, founder and CEO of REGENT, a startup based in Rhode Island developing a wing-in-ground vehicle that will make it possible to fly fast and sustainably between coastal cities before the end of this decade.
A wing-in-ground vehicle (WiG) is a type of craft that flies just a few meters above the surface of water making use of a draft-reducing aerodynamical effect.
As a matter of fact, wing-in-ground vehicles are not new, the Soviets had a go at them during the Cold War, and some entrepreneurs have tried to make them work in the past. What’s new with REGENT’s project, though, is that they are using some novel technologies, such as retractable foils to overcome some of the traditional limitations of this type of craft, such as their limited maneuvrability and sensitivity to high waves. What’s more, REGENT is designing its craft to be electrically powered, which means they will also allow for sustainable travel.
The Seaglider, such is the name of the ground-in-wing vehicle REGENT is working on, will fly over water at 180 mph, way, way faster than traditional ferries. So, it is not surprising that ferry operators are among the first to place orders for the Seaglider.
Airlines have also shown interest in the Seagliders. Some of them, like Japan Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, have even invested in the project, adding their names to a list of A-class investors that includes the likes of Mark Cuban, Peter Thiel and aerospace and defense giant Lockheed Martin.
Last but not least, the Seaglider has also caught the eye of the US Marine Corps at a time when it is reviewing its strategy for an Indo-Pacific area of operations that is simmering with geopolitical tensions.
But how long will we have to wait to see REGENT’s Seagliders in action? How is the experience of traveling in a Seaglider going to be like?
No one better to answer all these questions than person behind the REGENT Craft project! Tune in to listen to Billy Thalheimer share his insights about this new and revolutionary mode of transportation!
Is the air cargo market ripe for its own technology revolution?
Aleksey Matyushev and his team at Natilus are certainly doing their bit to make it happen.
A graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Aleksey has been working at the cutting edge of aerospace technology for quite some time, both on civilian and military projects.
He is the founder and CEO of Natilus, a Californian startup that is working on a family of truly disruptive blended-wing-body freigther aircraft that are also designed with autonomous flight capabilities and hydrogen propulsion in mind.
A tall order, for sure. But Natilus has secured the backing of quite a few prominent technology investors as well as some major players in the air cargo industry.
The Natilus project encapsulates also some of the themes that the broader aerospace industry faces in decades to come: go for a clean-sheet design or not? should commercial aircraft be autonomous or remotely operated? what’s the role of hydrogen in the future of aviation?
We talk about all this and some more with Aleksey in this episode of the podcast!
Charles Everett is the Director of Aviation at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a public organization set up by these two states in order to manage key pieces of infrastructure, including the ports, some tunnels and roads and, importantly for this episode of the podcast, New York’s airport system.
More than 144 million passengers pass every year through the airports under the responsibility of the Port Authority, which include JFK, La Guardia and Newark-Liberty, and this number is set to increase in coming years and the three of them complete massive redevelopment works.
Over $30 billion dollars have been invested in the last few years in rebuilding and expanding airports capacity at all major airports in the New York area, something that is also expected to bring about a very significant upgrade of the passenger experience.
So, on today’s episode, we are going to review, together with Charles, each of these projects and discuss how the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is preparing for a future in which sustainability take center stage and new forms of air mobility are start to shape the way we move around.
Tune in for a detailed overview of New York’s airport system and how it is investing to reclaim its position as one of the world’s major air travel nodes!
Eric Lithun is a successful software entrepreneur from Norway, who, after selling the company he had co-founded, focused his efforts on the development of an electric seaplane.
Elfly is a startup developing a new generation battery-powered seaplane.
Electric aviation is tough: energy density is not yet there for most use cases, but this is not the case, Eric thinks, of the many of the missions seaplanes operate nowadays.
In areas like the Norwegian fjords or the Maldives, seaplanes can play an important role linking communities that, while not distant as the crow (or the seaplane!) flies, are separated by some stretch of water that make air transport a desirable and efficient option.
An aircraft that can operate those short distances economically, sustainably and with little need for infrastructure can open up numerous opportunities in this type of places. This is why Elfly plans not only to develop a new generation of electric seaplanes that can be upgraded progressively as new battery technology becomes available, but also to become an operator on its very own, showing to the world the operational and financial feasibility of the concept.
Eric is a fantastic conversationalist that lays out very clearly what. are the the key factors that will make possible for the seaplanes to experience a renaissance of sorts in the coming decades.
Tune in for a fascinating conversation about Elfly and the future of electric seaplanes!
Download this episode from:Apple Podcasts / iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts
Things we talk about in this episode * Eric’s professional background and how he got into aviation * The Elfly story, background and current status * Why electric seaplanes have a compelling business case in Norway * How Elfly plans to avoid some of the issues that have prevented a more widespread use of seaplanes * The NoEmi seaplane, features and charateristics * Eric’s plan to serially-produce the NoEmi seaplane
ResourcesElfly
The previous podcast with Tomas Brødreskift
The announcement of a cooperation agreement between Elfly and the Lofoten Islands of northern Norway, including the vintage-style poster we talk about during our conversation with Eric.
A report by the Nordic Network for Electric Aviation (NEA) about opportunities for electric aviation in Scandinavia
The NoEmi in flight (as you may see it one day in the Norwegian fjords)
Podcast Music: Five Armies by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3762-five-armies
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Interview Transcript:(please note that, although we strive to make it as close as possible to the original recording, the transcript may not be 100% accurate)
Giulio Ranucci is the Head of Innovation at Aeroporti di Roma (AdR), the company managing Rome’s two airports, Fiumicino (FCO) and Ciampino (CIA), with nearly 45 million annual passengers combined.
What makes Giulio’s work at the helm of AdR’s innovation arm particularly interesting, is the very active role that the Italian airport operator is playing in fostering technology innovation in the airport sector.
The initiatives taken by AdR go well beyond Rome and Italy. Its annual startup accelerator programme is open to startups from all over the world and Aeroporti di Roma has also been instrumental in establishing a global network of airports, stretching all the way from Vancouver to Dubai, which share this interest in accelerating innovative systems and solutions with the potential to improve the passengers’ airport experience. This is an area, where, I think many will agree, there is lots of scope for improvement!
In this episode of the podcast to learn how Aeroporti di Roma has structured its startup accelerator, including the setup of a dedicated physical space within the terminal, how the most promising participants can then get funding from AdR Ventures, the firm’s own venture capital arm and, last but not least, how its airports and those in the Airports 4 Innovations network provide a real-world launchpad to test new products and ideas.
Tune in for a deep dive into the world of airport technology acceleration!
Richard Gaona is one of the key players in the global executive aviation industry.
The once president of Airbus’ Executive Aircraft division is currently leading one of the most unique operators in the highly sophisticated world of private aviation.
Richard is the President and CEO of Comlux, a company like no other.
The uniqueness of Comlux is not due to the fact that it operates at the highest end of a market.
No, even if its fleet includes some of the world’s largest and most luxurious private jets and its customer list, some of the world’s most successful businessmen, artists, sportsmen, heads of state and royalty, this is not the main reason it stands out from the pack.
What sets Comlux apart is the its rather holistic approach combining under its umbrella pretty much all the services that a private jet owner may need: from aircraft trading and brokerage, to cabin completions, from maintenance and technical services to on-demand charters and aircraft management.
What’s more, not content with that, Comlux has also been instrumental in the design of a new aircraft type, the Airbus TwoTwenty, which has de facto created a new category within the executive jet industry.
In this episode of the podcast, done in partnership with Comlux, Richard Gaona shares some insights about the fascinating and exclusive world in which Comlux operates in: the top tier of corporate aviation.
But with Richard we also talk extensively about the new TwoTwenty aircraft, the corporate version of the state-of-the-art A220 airliner, a project that is very dear to him, since Comlux has had a major role in its development from its inception.
The idea behind the TwoTwenty is that you can combine the economic and operational performance of a purpose-built business jet, with the spaciousness of an airliner.
Comlux delivered (and operates) the first TwoTwenty to Dubai based luxury hospitality group FIVE in the Spring of 2023 and will be fitting the cabins of the next sixteen of the type that Airbus produces.
So, tune in for an in-depth conversation about one of the most fascinating companies operating right now in commercial aviation!
Mark Hiller is the CEO of RECARO Holding and RECARO Aircraft Seating.
Germany-based RECARO is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of aircraft seats.
Although RECARO is present in, pretty much all segments of the market, its position is particularly strong in low cost and hybrid airlines, where it gets close to a third of the market worldwide.
Yes, you read that right!…roughly one of every three seats in this segment of the airline industry are made by this family-owned company headquartered in the picturesque town of Schwäbisch-Hall the southwest of Germany! (although not all seats are made there, since RECARO has now factories in several other locations around the world).
So, few people know the aircraft seat market as well as Mark Hiller, RECARO’s CEO, our guest today on the podcast.
In this episode, done in partnership with RECARO, we explore not just the fascinating story of the company, that started making chassis for Porsche sports cars, but will also review the current state of the aircraft seating industry and its main trends.
We also have some time, of course, to discuss some of the most original aircraft seat concepts that have been floated recently and their chances of becoming (or not!) a reality in the near future. Another topic that we touch upon is that of premium cabins (first, business and premium economy), an area in which RECARO has been investing significant resources and unveiling a whole range of innovative products lately.
Chances are that if your are reading this, you fly with certain regularity and, therefore, it is very, very likely you have spent time sitting on one of RECARO’s seats, so, I am sure this episode of the podcast will offer you a new perspective on the matter!
Download this episode from:Apple Podcasts / iTunes, Spotify or Google Podcasts
Things we talk about in this episode * Mark’s professional background * The long and fascinating story of Recaro * What markets is Recaro active in * Recaro’s focus on economy class seats and how it has expanded its range to cover also business class and premium economy * How Recaro co-brands its seats with some airlines * How long are the aircraft seat design and procurement cycles * How Recaro develops new aircraft seat concepts * What are the main drivers of sustainability in the aircraft seat industry * Standing passengers, stacked seats and other ideas…How you can innovate in the aircraft seat industry while remaining within the bounds of what is feasible today * How is the aircraft seat industry preparing for the arrival of eVTOLs
ResourcesRecaro Aircraft Seating
Recaro Group
The Porsche 356, one of the iconic cars that Recaro built chassis for (before the company specializes in making seats)
My 2021 piece for The Points Guy about the opening of Recaro’s new factory in Schwäbisch Hall
My post on the Places of Charm travel blog about the historical town of Schwäbisch Hall and about the nearby museum of German rural life
Trends in airline seating, my piece on Aerotime
Frontier Airlines & Alaska Airlines seats co-branded with Recaro
“Xtend” seat
Recaro’s acquisition of a Polish train seat manufacturer
Trains and planes in Europe, my piece for CNN on this
Podcast Music: Five Armies by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3762-five-armies
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Interview Transcript:(please note that, although we strive to make it as close as possible to the original recording, the transcript may not be 100% accurate)
Jay Sorensen is one of the world’s top experts in airline ancillaries.
Every year, Jay’s firm, IdeaWorksCompany, produces a comprehensive report about the state of airline ancillaries, a piece of work that has become the reference in this field, the Yearbook of Ancillary Revenue.
As someone that tried to read IdeaWork’s ancillaries yearbook as soon as it comes out, I was keen to have Jay on the podcast to talk about this very important component of many airlines’ business model.
What are the ancillaries that are driving the most revenue? Which ancillaries are now focusing the attention of the airlines? Is it realistic to think of airlines, first and foremost, as retailers, as some in the industry pretend?
We talk about all these matters and some more on this week’s episode of the podcast…!
Addison Ferrell is Director, Infrastructure and Head of Americas at Skyports, one of the world’s leading vertiport developers.
Vertiports will be an essential element of the upcoming advanced air mobility revolution. Will they be more like airports or like metro stations? What sort of experience can we expect to have there are travellers? What are the barriers of entry in this sector?
These are all questions I wanted to ask an expert like Addison, because there is still so much of the advanced air mobility experience that is still pretty much being defined as we speak.
In this regard, Skyport’s vision emerges as being particularly relevant, since the firm is active in all continents and has been involved in some of the most advanced projects in this field, such as the one taking shape in Dubai, to connect the Emirate’s main nodes with a network of vertiports.
So, tune in for a fascinating conversation with one of the experts that is actively shaping the future of the advanced air mobility experience!
The seaplane industry could not remain off trend.
Electrification is driving a wave of innovation in aviation and George Alafinov, the scion of a family of seaplane designers, is making sure it does not skip one of the oldest branches of the industry.
True, seaplanes may have fallen out of fashion in the post-war years. The advent of the jet era, the availability of airports on land and the maintenance requirements of aircraft operating in salty water led to this category of aircraft being sidelined. But Jekta’s founder is taking a new approach, using composites and electric propulsion to create the seaplane of the future.
In this episode of the podcast we discuss the pros and cons of seaplanes with George Alafinov and we talk also about the large order Jekta recently secured in India, where regional aviation is on the rise.
Tune in to learn how Jekta is pioneering technologies that could lead to a seaplane renaissance at a time when the industry is looking for versatile, clean and efficient aircraft for regional air transport
Marc Piette is the founder and CEO of Xwing, a California-based company that is developing a system that allows aircraft to fly fully autonomously, from gate to gate without human intervention.
This may sounds like science-fiction to some, but it is certainly not. Already back in 2021, Xwing demonstrated this technology by successfully completing one of such autonomous flights.
This is a potentially disruptive technology that I was very curious to learn more about, so I invited Marc to the podcast to try to understand a bit better what they are doing at Xwing.
in our conversation, we review the basics of autonomous flight and the technologies that Xwing is developing and integrating to make it possible. We also talk about Marc’s entrepreneurial journey, from the moment he arrived in the US from Belgium, his trajectory in the tech industry and the foundation and growth of Xwing.
Tune in for a fascinating chat about what could be the future of aviation several years and decades from now!
Things we talk about in this episode:
Jenny’s professional background
What is Cranfield Aerospace Solutions
What is the relationship between Cranfield Aerospace Solutions and Cranfield University
Why Cranfield Aerospace Solutions has pivoted towards the search for sustainable technologies in aviation
The Britten-Norman deal
Project Fresson
The role of Cranfield Aerospace Solutions in the UK’s sustainable aviation ecosystem
As used as I am in reviewing all sorts of innovative ideas in aviation, the concept that Magpie Aviation presented a few weeks ago really caught my eye.
Is this even possible? This was my first reaction when learning about the system to get an electric aircraft to tow, mid-air, a passenger aircraft to its destination that the guys at Magpie have devised.
Fortunately, I had met Magpie’s Damon Vander Lind and Andy Goessling, CEO and CTO of Magpie, respectively, at an event in Nice just a few days prior.
So, I got in touch to try to get them on the podcast asap in order to learn more about this truly original concept to decarbonize aviation.
So, I was on the line with, Damon and Andy, shortly after and the result is this podcast episode, where we talk about this revolutionary concept, its pros and cons and how Magpie Aviation plans to bring it to fruition.
By the way, they also share some details about the real flight tests they conducted recently over the Nevada desert (see video in the show notes).
So, don’t miss today’s episode if you wish to get a glimpse of what out-of-the-box thinking really means when it comes to tackling the problem of emissions in the aviation industry!
This year’s edition of EBACE was all about sustainability, or at least that’s what the program of activities focused on.
The executive aviation industry is well aware of how it is being increasingly perceived by the public opinion in a context of climate alarm and, believe it or not, it is taking the matter very seriously.
Interestingly, and perhaps counterintuitively, there seem to be strong synergies with another segment of the aviation industry that is part of the solution: the sustainable flight innovators. In fact, the prevailing technological and market conditions make it likely that the first use cases of new propulsion technologies will be in what is currently labelled as private aviation.
Besides that, EBACE is also a great forum to meet fellow aviation professionals from across the globe, including quite a few that have been here on this podcast before.
So, I thought it would be a good idea to do a special episode with two of them, Adam Twidell, who was here on episodes and Morell Westermann, who did so in episodes .
Both have a long experience in the field of aviation, besides the fact that they are both extremely articulate and great speakers, so their insights are always very valuable.
So, in this episode I speak much less and I let both Adam and Morell share their impressions and insights from EBACE: what was interesting and what not and how the concepts, aircraft and technology that were exhibited at EBACE will shape the future of air mobility by making it greener.
So, tune in for a fascinating debate between two great minds of the aviation industry!
Richard Wand was on the podcast already in 2021. At the time, the company he had founded a few years earlier, Cuberg, had just been acquired by Northvolt, one of the giants of the industry.
Cuberg specialized in the development of advanced Lithium-Metal batteries, which are particularly suitable for aviation applications and, since this is a field in which so much is going on at the moment, I thought it was a good time to have another chat with Richard to get his latest insights.
The topic is particularly relevant since there have been a number of announcements in the first months of 2023. Cuberg has announced a breakthrough that may allow its batteries to increase their specific energy by 40 to 50% and, more or less at the same time, researchers in China have also announced some notable achievements in this field.
So, I wanted to learn more about the state of battery development for electric aircraft and whether are we getting close to the sort of battery performances that will enable the advancement of electric aviation over the coming decade or two.
Tune in for this episode not just to learn the answer to these questions, but also to listen how Richard explains some of the basic concepts that underpin battery science and how this will eventually translate to zero emissions aircraft, perhaps much sooner than we expect!
TNMT is the research and analysis arm of Lufthansa Innovation Hub, which is, in turn, the innovation arm of the large German airline group.
If you are into aviation tech, TNMT’s newsletter is a must. I have been a subscriber for quite some time and have even collaborated, through AeroTime, in one of its editions.
This is why I had long wanted to invite TNMT’s head of research, Ivan Terekhov, here to the podcast, to ask him about the many interesting tech developments that are transforming aviation and travel, but also because I am really fascinated by the work they do at TNMT.
Leading a small team of researchers, Ivan has been instrumental in turning TNMT’s publications in a reference in this field.
In this conversation we learn a bit more about TNMT’s methodologies and about Ivan’s views of some of the most talked about (or “hyped” in some cases, if you prefer!) technologies in aviation right now.
Tune in for a comprehensive and well informed overview of the current aviation tech scene!
Mikhail Kokorich is a serial entrepreneur operating at the technology frontier of aerospace.
Following a string of successful business launches in areas such as satellite technology, his latest venture, Swiss-based Destinus is developing an hypersonic aircraft capable of linking different continents at speeds five times faster than sound.
This may sound outlandish, but there is currently a wave of startups that taking advantages of advances in materials science and renewed interest among the world’s governments in hypersonic capabilities in order to explore this potentially disruptive technology.
I really appreciated Mikhail’s straightforward and not-mincing-words style in addressing some of the aspects of hypersonics development, from the role of military research projects to the sustainability angle.
This direct, hands-on approach is also evident in some of the startup’s latest milestones. Far from working on abstract concepts, Destinus is already testing some small-scale prototypes (not hypersonically yet!) and is creating a network of partners across Europe (for example, it recently received a €13M grant from the Spanish government to further its research in this field). Some new tangible developments are expected in the next few months.
So, how long before we are able to hop across the Atlantic in a couple of hours?
Tune in for this fascinating conversation (despite my voice still ailing from a cold!) about one of the most exciting aerospace technologies currently under development!
When it comes to the passenger experience and the product most airlines offer to their passengers, Jeff O’Neill has pretty strong opinions.
Not for nothing, Jeff, who was already on this podcast back in 2020, is the founder of Zephyr Aircraft Seat and has been patiently working to bring to fruition what he sees as the future of the Premium Economy class.
The Zephyr seat is as revolutionary as it looks: a stacked seat concept that allows passengers to lay down flat to sleep without having to pay a fortune for a fancy business class seat. Now, this idea is, of course, a departure from the canon of the industry, which won’t face an easy path to become a reality.
If airlines have tended to be traditional in its approach to seating, this doesn’t discourage Jeff, as well as other creative minds in this industry from continuing to pursue what he regards as a necessary update of the passenger experience.
After years of investment by airlines in perfecting the business class cabin, has the time come for a rethink of the premium economy and economy class experiences?
We talk with Jeff about all this and he also shares some tips and insights about his favourite airline products currently in the market, both premium and economy.
So tune in for a fascinating conversation about what makes for a great airline cabin product and passenger experience!
Omer Bar-Yohay is the president of AutoFlight.
AutoFlight is as close as it gets in the eVTOL world to a global company: founded and headquartered in China, where it has its manufacturing facility, its design and development team and some of its major investors are located in Germany and its operational testing grounds in the California.
Although, perhaps it hasn’t got, so far, as much press as other major eVTOL players, AutoFlight has been collecting some notable successes: in February 2023, AutoFlight’s Prosperity set a new record for a nonstop eVTOL flight, 250km on a single battery charge (beating by 2km the previous record-holder, Joby) and just a few days later it announced a massive 205-strong aircraft order from EVFLY, a firm that intends to launch eVTOL operations in Southeast Asia, Middle East, and Africa before the end of this decade.
But what I also found quite interesting is that Omer defines himself first and foremost as a realist, so I was really keen to learn his views about the eVTOL euphoria we are living through and get a realistic assessment of the market situation and the prospects for eVTOL developers from an experienced industry insider like him.
There are certainly few people out there with as much direct hands-on experience of the new forms of air mobility that are taking shape!
So tune in for a fascinating conversation with Omer Bar-Yohay, president of AutoFlight!
Hemant Mistry, our guest today, is the director of energy transition at the world’s top airline industry organisation, IATA, which gathers nearly 300 airlines from all over the world.
With Hemant we review the strategy of priorities that IATA has set for its members and the industry’s position in matters such as the sustainable fuel mandates being introduced, for example, by the European Union.
But IATA’s task is not all about coordination among its members and lobbying, there are also a number of practical initiatives we talk about, such as IATA Connect, which provides a useful and easily shareable framework for airlines and other players in the air transportation and travel market to assess their carbon footprint, a necessary first step to take action to mitigate it.
So, tune in for a sharp and concise overview of how the main organization representing the airline industry views the future of sustainable flight.
Ivor von Dartel left the comfort and security of a corporate job at Airbus to develop an all-electric battery-powered aircraft.
Munich-based Vaeridion is one of the most promising players in the emerging field of electric aviation. The 9-seater, 500km-range electric aircraft that Ivor’s team is working on is designed to shuttle travellers, carbon-free, across the sort of short to medium range distances that nowadays are often covered by road transport.
Launching a new aircraft from scratch is, of course, a formidable and very capital intensive endeavour, but the advent of new propulsion technologies opens a blue ocean of opportunities for those willing to take on the challenge.
With the electric aviation scene gathering momentum, I thought it was the right time to touch base with Ivor and find out more about the background of this project, his own personal motivations to lead it and the milestones and perspectives ahead of the Vaeridion team.
Tune in for an inspiring tale of entrepreneurship as well as a glimpse of what could be future of air mobility in years to come!
Gregory Davis heads one of the most talked-about startups of the electric aviation era.
In fact, Eviation was already cool when almost no one was talking about electric aircraft and aviation sustainability.
The super sleek lines of its Alice commuter aircraft are due to the fact that this truly clean-sheet aircraft has been designed around the batteries, making a truly electric-native aircraft.
in this episode of the podcast we review with Gregory the latest developments since he took the reigns of Eviation in early 2022, including, of course, the Alice’s first flight in September 2022, but many other things as well.
We talk about the earlier story of the company since it was founded in Israel in 2015, its current order book and commercial prospects and the different use cases use cases and versions of the Alice that Eviation’s team is working on.
When can we expect the next flights of the Alice prototype? When is it expected to get certified? When is it expected to enter commercial service?
You will have to listen to today’s episode to get the answers direct from Eviation’s Greogry Davis!
This is not the first time that Morell Westermann visits this podcast.
Those of you that were around in 2020, when we were just taking off, might remember how Morell Westermann and Malik Aziz explained here their record-setting electric flight across the whole length of Germany.
Well, Morell is back at record setting, this time, at aeroFriedrichshafen, in Southern Germany. Europe’s largest general aviation show, will have a special opening act with the arrival of what is intended to be the largest formation of electrically-powered aircraft ever to fly together.
Electric aircraft from all over Europe will gather at an airfield in the canton of Sankt Gallen, Switzerland, and cross the water of Lake Constance to make a coordinated arrival at the show.
This will be a remarkable feat in itself, but I thought that was also a good excuse to invite Morell back to the podcast in order to take the pulse of the electric aviation industry from a pilot’s perspective.
In addition to his work as a technology and innovation consultant and key note speaker, Morell is a keen and experienced aviator and a very active member of the, still small, but growing electric aviation community. We may even call him an evangelist of electric flight!
So, tune in for an overview of a movement that is starting to transform the way people fly!
If you are into sustainable aviation, chances are that you have come across ZeroAvia some way or another.
This fast growing startup, which is developing hydrogen fuel-cell powertrains for aircraft, has been making headlines pretty much every other week.
From its Californian roots, ZeroAvia is now operating across five separate locations in the US and the UK and has raised funds from some of the most prominent names in the global business community, including the likes of Amazon, Shell, Bill Gates’ investment fund Breathrough Energy Ventures, the IAG Group, American Airlines and United Airlines, to name just a few. Moreover, it has also standing partnerships with a whole range of aerospace and technology companies, such as Textron and PowerCell.
The star role of ZeroAvia in the green aviation ecosystem is not something exactly new, in fact we already did an episode, back in 2020, with the firm’s CFO, Katya Akulinicheva.
But so much is going on that I thought that, two years after that first episode, it was time to invite ZeroAvia’s founder and CEO, Val Miftakhov, to come to the podcast and share some details of where his company is at now and what are the next milestones we should keep an eye on.
We also talk, of course, of Val’s earlier entrepreneurial experience, building, quite literally, electric cars out of his garage, and review some of the key aspects of the hydrogen-powered technology that ZeroAvia is working on and that have driven recent decisions such as the acquisition of UK-based fuel cell technology company HyPoint.
So, tune in with a wide-ranging conversation with one of the World’s green aviation leaders!
JetBlue Ventures is one of the earliest and most prolific early stage investors in the aviation and travel technology space.
It is now common for many large airlines to have their own in-house venture arm, but when it launched, back in 2016, JetBlue Ventures was one of the pioneers in this space, together with Hangar51 (of the IAG Group) and Cockpit Innovation (of El Al). Fast forward to today and JetBlue Ventures is invested in more than 40 companies, ranging from advanced air mobility to hospitality software. JetBlue Ventures focuses on projects aiming to make the travel journey more seamless and convenient, as well as in technologies that drive efficiency and sustainability in the travel ecosystem, with 1,000 startup projects being reviewed every year.
How does an airline-affiliated venture capital firm conduct its business? How does it differ from the more generalist venture firms? Which are the hottest trends and companies that are currently focusing the attention of investors in travel and mobility.
There’s no one better to answer these questions than Stephen Snyder, managing director of JetBlue Ventures.
With Stephen we talk about the place of JetBlue Ventures in the Silicon Valley venture capital ecosystem and about some of the latest ventures and projects that his team has invested in and what caught their interest. Stephen also shares his experience as an entrepreneur, with a project in the airport retail space, and how this helped him better understand the challenges startups face when operating in the hyper-competitive travel sector.
As it couldn’t be otherwise, sustainability is also a central topic in our conversation, since this is one of a top investment themes for JetBlue Ventures and one in which they have made several major bets.
If you are into aviation and travel innovation, venture capital or entrepreneurship tune in because in today’s episode Silicon Valley meets the aviation industry!
Patrick Edmond is the managing director of Altair Advisory, a consultancy firm providing expertise and advice to the commercial aviation industry.
Patrick has a long and broad experience that encompasses airlines, airports, aircraft leasing, aviation tech and, of course, consulting services, which gives him a great vantage point on the industry.
I had been following Patrick for quite some time, since he is an avid commentator with numerous publications on social media and other platforms, covering relevant current aspects of the aviation industry. So I thought it was about time he came to the podcast to talk about some of the hottest topics right now in aviation and share some of his insights.
In our conversation we cover quite a lot of ground, with a particular focus on the drive towards sustainability and its implications for regional aviation, a segment of the industry that is of particular interest to him.
So, make yourselves comfortable, and get ready for a fascinating chat with a world-class expert in the business of commercial aviation!
LanzaJet is the sustainable aviation fuel spin-off of the almost eponymous LanzaTech, an American firm that is developing and deploying technologies to turn different sorts of feedstock and waste, into biofuels.
Of the different processes and pathways available to make sustainable aviation fuel, LanzaJet is focusing on the Alcohol-to-Jet one, which uses ethanol previously produced from organic feedstocks.
LanzaJet’s technology has caught the eye of some of the most prominent corporate players. I am not talking only of airlines, such as British Airways, which is also an investor in LanzaJet, but also firms like Shell, Suncor and Microsoft, to name a few.
Because the world can’t get enough sustainable aviation fuel right now, LanzaJet is currently busy planning to open a string of plants across the world. Two plants are already under way in the US, with another one in the UK coming up next and other projects in Europe and Asia also in the pipeline.
Breakthrough Energy, a decarbonization fund set by Bill Gates, is also supporting LanzaJet’s vision and recently announced it was gibing it a $50M grant to help accelerate these projects.
What have all those major companies seen in LanzaJet? What is the outlook for the sustainable aviation fuel market? How can the Alcohol-to-Jet production technology help decarbonize flying?
Join me for an in-depth conversation about LanzaJet and the future of the sustainable aviation fuel industry, with Jimmy Samartzis, CEO of LanzaJet!
Michael Barnard is one of the most outspoken experts in the field of renewable energy and decarbonization technologies and, as it couldn’t be otherwise, has also had a close look at the different projects that are claiming to take aviation towards the path of sustainability.
In this long and gripping conversation, Michael doesn’t mince words when talking about some of the trends and themes that are sweeping through the world of aviation, from eVTOLs to hydrogen.
Michael has also taken the bold step of publishing his forecasts about the evolution of air traffic demand all the way up to the year 2100, a prediction which diverges considerably from those made public by official industry bodies and other analysts and that he aims to revise regularly as new data comes available.
He also shares some insights about what he sees are promising areas of growth in sustainable aviation. Not for nothing he is an advisor to several startups that are developing solutions in the field of electric aviation.
Whether you agree or not with Michael’s views on the industry, what I am sure is that today’s episode won’t leave you indifferent, it may even make some uncomfortable, but will certainly provide food for thought to anyone interested in the different projects, technologies and companies that are currently trying to shape the future of aviation for decades to come.
Tune in for a rather unconventional and, straightforward chat about sustainable aviation!
Today’s podcast guest is leading a firm that is truly unique in the aviation world.
Tom Grundy, CEO of Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) will possibly chastise me for talking about the airship comeback.
The Airlander, the world’s largest aircraft by some measures, may look, from the outside, like one of those classical airships of the pre-War era, however, as listeners of this episode shall soon learn, it presents some notable differences as well, the result of almost a century of progress in aerospace and materials sciences.
The airship, as we all know, fell out of favour decades ago, what’s different this time, then? In our chat, Tom explains some of the amazing capabilities of present day hybrid air vehicles like the Airlander: very low fuel consumption, almost no infrastructure needs, long range and super long endurance. Even the low speeds it is capable of can also be an advantage at times, like when it is used for luxury air tours or loitering reconnaissance missions.
The Airlander 10, the first model that HAV has developed has already announced its launch customer, Spanish airline Air Nostrum, but Tom’s team area already working on a much larger version that will meet the needs of freight operators operating in areas of the world with limited land transportation options.
I am sure many of you, just like me, can’t wait to see these giant Airlanders flying around…in the meantime, tune in for a fascinating conversation with Hybrid Air Vehicles CEO Tom Grundy!
Tom Vroemen knows what is it like to start a company in relatively unploughed field.
In the last decade he launched, grew and sold two tech companies before switching its attention to sustainable aviation.
Hi initial plan was to launch some sort of electric air service operation, but soon it was clear that the technology wasn’t there yet.
What was available, though, was his experience in scaling up businesses, and direct aviation expertise (he’s got a pilot license) to help startups in the electric aviation space get the basics right, raise the necessary amount of funds and develop viable products, one step at a time.
This contrasts with the strategy followed by quite a few electric aviation projects out there, including a big chunk of the eVTOL industry, which may be relying too much on what Tom calls “stacked black box” assumptions, the belief that a long list of issues will be somehow sorted in time and in the right order for a project to prosper.
So this episode of the podcast is a bit like a reality check that takes aim and dissects some of the most pressing issues the electric aircraft and eVTOL industries face. Tom doesn’t mince words in this analysis and, yet, at the same time, provides some insights about which strategies could stand a better chance to succeed.
Tune in for a direct, frank and insightful conversation about the future of electric aviation!
Download this episode from:Apple Podcasts / iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts or Stitcher
Things we talk about in this episode:* Tom’s professional background and his different entrepreneurial ventures and exits * How Tom moved from developing electric motor boats to planes * What is Electric Leap and what it does * What are the main issues facing the electric aviation industry * Why eVTOLs may remain a very niche market * Why the sustainable aviation industry needs a reality check * Which strategies are more likely to produce advances in electric aviation
Resources:Electric Leap
Tom’s posts on Linkedin
Heart Aerospace & its recent pivot to a hybrid 30-seater
Eviation
My 2017 article on CNN in which I mention Eviation
Podcast Music: Five Armies by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3762-five-armies
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Interview Transcript:(please note that, although we strive to make it as close as possible to the original recording, the transcript may not be 100% accurate)
We are living through an almost unprecedented wave of aerospace innovation. From eVTOLs to new propulsion technologies, the world is awash with new projects, designs and concepts.
How many of them will pass the certification process?
This is a question that I’ve been pondering for a while and this is the reason I welcomed the chance to do this episode in partnership with AFuzion, a leading boutique consultancy firm that helps aerospace companies get their certification process right.
Few people know the world of aircraft certification as well as Vance Hilderman, AFuzion’s founder.
A long time entrepreneur and author (he’s written one of the reference technical books on aircraft certification), in this episode of the podcast Vance delivers a proper masterclass on the topic of aircraft certification.
What are the challenges that eVTOL designers face to get certified? What are the key elements that they must take into account? Which potential points of failure do regulators look at? How does the time-frame and procedure to get a new aircraft design certified look like?
We talk about all these and many more questions concerning the somehow complex, but very essential, world of aircraft certification.
Tune in to this episode of the podcast to get some first hand insights of the aircraft certification process as well as some valuable pieces of advice, all directly from one of the world’s top experts in this field!
Alon’s career spans several decades in, both, military and civilian aviation. He’s been at the helm of all sorts of aircraft, from F-16s to the Dreamliners, which he currently flies for Israeli airline El Al.
But, while Alon’s flying career could surely provide material for several episodes, the reason he’s here today on the podcast is the Simplifly App, a tool he and his partners have developed in order to help people fight their fear of flying.
A surprisingly large number of people suffer fear of flying to some degree. This is something Alon realized after quite a few people in his circle sought advice about how to address this issue.
Alon would soon find himself organizing workshops for people that wished to overcome their fear of flying. But, in person events, are, of course, limited in scale and reach. If fear of flying is so widespread, why not scale it up with tools and channels that allowed him to reach many more people at any one time?
The next step, thus, was to launch Simplifly, an app that helps people address their fear of flying through a series of lessons and interactive features that allow you to communicate with qualified pilots in order to seek answers and advice on this matter.
So, today’s podcast is about Alon’s entrepreneurial journey, but also about a broader topic, the fear of flying and the ways those that experience it can overcome it.
And, as a bonus, listeners of this podcast will benefit from an exclusive present: FREE access to the Simplifly premium features by entering a promo code that Alon will reveal during our conversation!
The recent covid pandemic has exposed how fragile the aviation and, more generally, the travel sector are to external shocks.
What’s more, things get particularly messy when each country starts implementing its own measures and health requirements.
The confusion and uncertainty resulting from this maze of regulations is often more damaging than the measures themselves.
This is why some in the aviation industry have been pushing for an international framework that provides clarity and predictability to those that need to travel in troubled times.
Our guest today, Jean-Marc Bourreau, has been instrumental in the elaboration of a Policy White Paper on Harmonized Travel Requirements that the Saudi Civilian Aviation Authority (GACA) will present at the annual ICAO plenary session that will take place between the end of September and beginning of October this year.
Jean-Marc is an experienced aviation consultant, currently a partner at Consulum, a government advisory firm that is assisting the Saudi government in its quest to make of Saudi Arabia one of the global hubs of the aviation industry.
I learned about the harmonised travel requirements initiative earlier this year at the Future Aviation Forum in Riyadh, where it was publicly presented, so I invited Jean-Marc to come on the pod so that he can share some more details about this project and what it might mean for air travellers.
When British airline Flybe folded during the covid pandemic, Josef Mouris had the chance to devote 100% of his energies to the project that had been long time in his mind.
This former Dash Q400 pilot founded Electron, an electric flight startup. Although at first Josef was looking at the actual flying-operational part of the business, he soon realized that the hardware wasn’t quite there yet. So, Electron pivoted to developing its own fully electric aircraft.
The idea is that these light powered aircraft capable of seating 4 passengers will provide a convenient, green and relatively cheap solution for many journeys that currently involve cumbersome itineraries through airports or long overland routes.
In this episode of the podcast, Josef shares his entrepreneurial journey as well as some details of the Electron 5, the aircraft he is developing (and of which already a smaller 2-seater demonstrator exists) as well as of this growth plans.
Tune in for a fascinating conversation with one of the people that are working hard to redefine the future of air mobility and bring forth the advent of zero carbon flying.
Addison Schonland is the co-founder and manager of AirInsight, a digital platform that tracks the commercial aviation industry through a combination of media content and analytical tools.
Addison is one of the most knowledgeable people I know about the state of the aviation industry and he was also one of the very first guests of this podcast when I was just getting it off the ground.
It’s been a while since then and quite a lot has happened in the world, so I thought it was a good idea to call Addison and get him back on the show for another in-depth conversation.
On this episode we cover quite a lot of ground. Addison shares his views on a number of hot topics in the industry, discussing trends in aircraft development and procurement as well as some of the latest moves by established operators and entrepreneurs in areas such as sustainable aviation and new aircraft concepts.
So, tune in for this long, insightful chat about the present and future of the commercial aviation industry and the main strategic considerations its different actors have to play with.
Felipe Varon started thinking about drones more than 20 years ago when it was far from being a fashionable topic. A lot has changed since then and nowadays there is no shortage of startups working in the field of advanced air mobility (AAM).
While there is no shortage of startups designing new cool eVTOL aircraft, Varon, the firm that Felipe leads, is looking at the broader picture.
In its holistic approach, Varon aims to build the value chain that should allow eVTOLs to take off in Latin America, a region where the potential is notorious, due to the deficiencies in physical transport infrastructure as well as the complicated orography of some countries, like Felipe’s native Colombia.
Varon aims to set the basis of the ecosystem that will need to be in place for advanced air mobility services to become a reality and this is the reason that Felipe defines his project primarily as an infrastructure firm.
In this vertically integrated approach Varon would operate both the vertiports and the fleets that will move people around in several Colombian cities, starting by the seaside city of Cartagena and from there expanding to the rest of the continent. The aircraft would be provided by partner OEMs such as, for example, Jaunt Air Mobility. Tourism would provide the vector for the introduction of eVTOLs, before moving progressively onto other use cases.
In this episode of the podcast, Felipe shares his vision of a Latin America in which advanced air mobility helps sort out many of the regional chronical issues with the lack of adequate infrastructure and we talk about how he plans to do it.
Tune in to zoom into one of the regions of the world that aims to benefit the most from the eVTOL revolution!
In addition to being a long-time aviation executive and entrepreneur, Paul Perera is, perhaps, one of the most prolific experts out there when it comes to disseminating interesting insights and relevant stories in the domain of aviation sustainability.
Paul is active in the field of hydrogen aviation through, Fluxart, a UK-based startup he co-founded to develop cryogenic motor technology which can boost the performance of hydrogen-powered propulsion systems.
On today’s episode Paul will share some details about how this technology works and its prospects in the near future. And, as it couldn’t be otherwise, we also chat about the broader hydrogen aviation landscape and, most particularly, the efforts to make of the UK a hydrogen-aviation powerhouse.
In the fourth and last episode of this airlines and software cycle, produced in collaboration with SITA for Aircraft, we present you a comprehensive, holistic view of how digital, data-driven tools have become increasingly important to get further efficiency improvements out of airline operations.
Sometimes it’s a relatively small thing, such as not having to carry several kilograms of paper in a flight bag, sometimes it’s truly sophisticated stuff, such as predicting the presence of ice crystals along the flight path with millimetrical precision or calculating the exact optimal flight path among tens of thousands of possible alternatives, but in any of these cases algorithms are the ultimate performance booster.
Tune in to learn about the multiple ways big data and the right software can help you fly better!
Our guest today is Kemal Ahmed, who leads Digital Day of Operations applications at SITA for Aircraft, covering several areas of importance for airline operations, from aircraft to ground communications to weather-optimized flight planning. Kemal provides us with an overview of his work in this field and how the contribution of software to make airline operations more sustainable can not be overlooked.
Simon I. Briceno is the chief commercial officer at Jaunt Air Mobility, an interesting advanced air mobility startup with a rather unique approach: a hybrid eVTOL with fixed wing and a rotorcraft.
Why this unusual configuration? Simon shares some details about the advantages of this approach and how Jaunt’s engineers aim to get the best of both worlds, fixed wing and helicopters, and 100% electric!
Tune in to learn more about this fascinating project that aims to launch in North America as early as 2026.
Keith Mason heads the Centre for Air Transport Management at Cranfield University, in the UK, one of the world’s top, if not THE top, education centers for aviation studies.
Professionals from all over the world head to this educational establishment in the middle of England to learn, research and breathe aviation.
Cranfield University offers graduate degrees covering both the technical and business sides of aviation and it is also heavily involved in some of the most cutting edge research programmes that are right now ongoing in areas such as sustainable aviation and airline digitalization.
Keith Mason has been on the podcast to share some insights about the work that they do at Cranfield and how is it like to study there.
Australian startup Avation H2 is working on an ammonia-powered aircraft. On this episode of the podcast, its co-founder and director, Helmut Mayer, joins us to share the details of this project and discuss the prospects of ammonia as a potential aviation fuel of the future!
TIACA is the International Air Cargo Association, an organization that gathers many of the global players in this industry.
We are talking, literally, about keeping the world’s economy running, no small feat at a time, like now, of severe supply chain constraints. This is no excuse, however, for the industry to shy away from meeting certain environmental and social standards that can help make the world a better place.
This is why TIACA recently launched BlueSky, a programme for every operator in the air cargo supply chain to align with a number of industry’s ESG best practices and to get efforts in this direction verified and recognized by stakeholders, industry peers and the broader society.
So, I have invited TIACA’s director general, Glyn Hughes, to come to the podcast and explain in detail how this whole BlueSky programme works.
You can tell from the passionate way in which Glyn shares his insights about this project how BlueSky is a major deal for the air cargo industry and a significant step forward in setting ESG standards for all operators that are active moving goods by air around the globe.
Tune in for an insightful chat about the way the air cargo industry is approaching ESG and making sure that efforts towards sustainability and social improvements across the supply chain are properly recognized!
Did you know that the first NFT airline ticket ever minted attracted bids worth over $1M at auction?
This was a special ticket minted for Air Europa, a Spanish airline that is issuing 10 special NFTickets to fly people from Madrid to Art Miami this coming Autumn.
But besides the hype and the catchy headlines, blockchain technology has several potentially disruptive uses in the air travel sector, of which we are just starting to scratch the surface.
Facundo Diaz is the co-founder of TravelX, a blockchain tech firm that is exploring ways to turn airline tickets into smart contracts that support a whole range of uses.
Tune in for a fascinating conversation at the frontier of travel tech!
Think of an aircraft as a blank, giant, 3D canvas, a space for creative expression…
The livery is an essential part of any airline’s branding, in fact you may be able to argue what comes first, whether the livery or the corporate branding…this is one of the aspects of airline livery design that we discuss with our guest today.
Edmond Huot is Chief Creative Officer at Allforward, a media and marketing agency based in New York City. He’s been in charge of the branding and livery design for Northern Pacific Airways, a newly created airline that aims to connect the contiguous US with Asia by way of Alaska.
Edmond gives as a glimpse of what the process to define a new airline brand from scratch looks like: how does it start? how many iterations are needed before you come up with an identity that resonates? how do you translate your drawings into an actual 160ft-long plane?
And last but not least: which are, according to him, the coolest airline liveries of all time?
Tune in for this week’s episode of the podcast!
Zvi Schreiber is a serial entrepreneur and founder of Freightos a digital platform that facilitates the booking of air cargo shipments.
The idea for Freightos came up a few years ago when Zvi was managing a hardware firm that had to ship stuff from Asia to Europe and America and realized then that the process was far from smooth.
When it comes to digitalization, the air cargo industry has lagged behind its passenger-carrying counterpart and this is precisely what Freightos and its Webcargo unit have set to fix.
But besides this inspiring tale of disruption and entrepreneurship, we also talk more generally about the air freight industry, because this is an area of aviation that doesn’t usually enjoy much public visibility.
What are the processes involved in air cargo? Who are the different counterparties involved?
And, very importantly, what have been the effects of covid and war in air logistics? Can air freight alleviate somehow the current strain that global supply chains are experiencing?
Tune in for some great insights about the world of air cargo!
In the third episode of our airline software series, produced in collaboration with SITA for Aircraft, we explore a topic that may sound familiar to the many of you that enjoy spending some time using flight tracking applications.
It is paradoxical that, in an era in which you can monitor air traffic at any time of day or night at the tip of a click from your laptop or your phone screens, not all aircraft are tracked at all time when in flight. The tragic disappearance of the flight MH370 in 2014 brought this paradox to the fore and prompted ICAO to issue the “15 minute” rule that, by 2023, will require all airlines to have systems in place to monitor their aircraft pretty much on an ongoing basis.
What is currently the situation on this front? Are airlines ready to track their aircraft wherever they are? What technologies are there to fulfill this mission?
Albert Domínguez, product manager at SITA for Aircraft, will be today on the podcast to answer all these questions.
Albert is product manager for eWAS Dispatch, SITA for Aircraft flagship product for flight monitoring and analysis, and , as well as of Flight Tracker, a legacy product in the same category. An experienced professional in the field of airline operations software, Albert will give us an overview of the different ways aircraft can communicate with ground control to make sure everything is allright at all times.
Tune in to listen to today’s show!
Within the world of executive aviation, there is an even more exclusive world, that of the large and very large business jets, airliners that have been converted for VIP roles.
A leader in this very unique space, Comlux is a Swiss-based firm that operates
from trading large executive jets, to operating them on behalf of its customers, to taking care of all necessary work for cabin design and fitting.
It is not an exaggeration to say that some of the most luxurious aircraft currently operating in the world have the Comlux imprimt one way or another.
And our guest today, Arnaud Martin, knows this world inside out. Arnaud is the chief strategist at Comlux and has been instrumental in the roll out of a project that has the potential to disrupt the private jet industry, the new TwoTwenty corporate jet unveiled by Airbus a few months ago.
The TwoTwenty is the executive version of the A220 airliner and thanks to its operational performance is able to deliver the comfort of a very large executive jet, with the economics of a purpose-built business jet.
Even if you may not have (yet!) the 70 million dollars to buy one of these, this is a fascinating example of new category creation. Those fortunate enough to be in a position to hesitate between a purpose built business jet and a large airliner can now get the best of both worlds.
So, we have talked with Arnaud about the world of highest end of executive jets. How much does it cost to fly on one of them? What drives the uber-rich to buy one jet or another or how do they chose their favourite cabin interiors.
Tune in for a chat about an industry that is often surrounded by a veil of secrecy!
Today we continue exploring the key role that existing technology, and software in particular, can play in making aviation more sustainable and, generally speaking, more efficient.
In the second episode of this 4-part series produced in collaboration with SITA for Aircraft, François Chazelle, will explain how, as chief commercial officer of Safety Line, a French startup acquired by SITA in 2021, he helped develop a family of software solutions that crunch large amounts of data from multiple sources to come up with recommendations that help airlines and the planet save millions of dollars and a huge amount of carbon emissions.
I found it really interesting that François, now senior product manager at SITA for Aircraft overseeing the OptiFlight family of products, operates at the intersection of three major themes that are defining our time: big data, machine learning and sustainability.
While I was aware of the potential of algorithms to squeeze even more efficiency gains from airliner operations, in this chat François provides a comprehensive overview of how this is done and, also, of what are the barriers preventing a much widespread adoption of this technology.
But, as usual, is it best to hear it from the man himself…without further ado, let me welcome François to the podcast!
Airflow is a Californian startup has been racking orders for its 9-seater eSTOL aircraft, including in its amphibious version!
So, I’ve invited its founder and CEO, Marc Ausman, to the podcast to share some insights about this very promising model and its market perspectives.
Marc is a former US Navy pilot turned entrepreneur. He built and sold an aerospace technology company and has been involved in a number of other innovative projects in the field of telecoms and aviation. He was also chief strategy at Airbus Vahana, the European manufacturer’s early project in the field of advanced air mobility.
In this episode we talk with Marc about this entrepreneurial journey and also about Airflow and how a new generation of electric eSTOL aircraft could, very soon, be disrupting the mobility industry by using already existing and infrautilized infrastructure.
Tune in to learn more about one of the hottest startups right now in the field of sustainable aviation!
Tom Hsieh
It was a matter of time until the crypto boom came knocking the door of the airline industry.
For today’s episode we connect with California where a bunch of entrepreneurs are preparing the launch of a crypto-based airline loyalty programme.
Well, to be more accurate, it is starting as an airline loyalty programme, but the idea is that it ultimately you earn and redeem this new crypto currency with a broad network of partners and trade it in crypto markets too.
Lenny Moon
Tom Hsieh and Lenny Moon are, respectively, the president and CEO of FlyCoin, a new crypto-based loyalty programme based on Ethereum.
They are both also part of the managerial team of a group of airlines that includes Northern Pacific Airways (whose launch we covered not long ago) and Ravn Alaska. Both airlines are the launchpad for this new type of frequent flyer programme.
This was, thus, my chance to ask lots of questions about how crypto works and what are the potential applications for airlines and, perhaps more importantly, what this means for passengers in practice.
So tune in for an interesting conversation about one of the hottest topics in tech and business right now!
Download this episode from:Apple Podcasts / iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts or Stitcher
Things we talk about in this episode:* Tom and Lenny’s background, from the early days of the internet to Wall Street * Tom and Lenny’s involvement in a number of airline ventures * What is FlyCoin and how does it work * How FlyCoin differs from traditional loyalty programmes * What the FlyCoin user experience is going to be like * What is the plan to grow FlyCoin’s user base
Resources:Flycoin
The Flycoin white paper
Flycoin ERC-20 contract
Northern Pacific Airways
Ravn
FLOAT
Ethereum
Earthlink, the internet provider where Tom worked during the early years of the internet
My chronicle of the Northern Pacific Airways presentation gala in California
Podcast Music: Five Armies by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3762-five-armies
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Interview Transcript(please note that, although we strive to make it as close as possible to the original recording, the transcript may not be 100% accurate)
Hello and welcome to the Allplane podcast
Here with the people that are redefining the future of commercial aviation
As usual, before I introduce today’s guest, let me remind you that you can find all the previous episodes of this podcast as well as many other aviation stories on the Allplane website: that’s allplane.tv - allplane.tv
Today it’s one of those episodes in which we have not one, but two top-calibre guests.
And we are also going to touch upon one of the hottest topics right now in the world, not just in aviation, but in a more general societal way and that is crypto and how it can be used by airlines.
Tom Hsieh and Lenny Moon are, respectively, the president and CEO of a California-based startup called Flycoin, a crypto-based loyalty programme for airlines and other partners
What’s more, both are also in the managerial of a group of airlines that includes Northern Pacific Airways, Ravn Alaska and FLOAT, so the moment Flycoin becomes fully operative this new generation loyalty programme will have a stable of real airlines ready for its deployment.
So far so good, but how does this work in practice? What are the advantages of a crypto-based loyalty programme compared to a traditional one? And how will the average passenger deal with the technicalities of crypto?
We talk about this and more in this episode of the podcast…tune in!
Hello, Lenny Tom, how are you?
Well, right.
So we we've got two guests today on the podcast. Let me just briefly introduce you, you are both leading a very interesting project, actually several interesting projects related to aviation. One of them is the Northern Pacific airways project, which I had the chance to attend the launch off recently in California, it's going to be an airline connecting the US and Asia via Alaska. Then you also run an airline in Alaska called Ravn, which was an airline that got relaunched recently, you also are involved in another project in the LA area, which is a commuter airline, with light airplanes that hasn't taken off yet, but it's there in the making. And then another project that I found really interesting that we're going to talk about extensively today, which is called Flycoin, which is basically, as you say, the first blockchain based loyalty program for airlines. Well, not only for airlines, but you're gonna start using it in an airline context. Let's put it this way. But first of all, let me ask you to introduce yourselves and explain who you are and what your background is because you've got a very, very interesting background in aviation and in other areas of the technology industry. So who, what, who wants to start?
I'll kick it off first, and then pass it off to Tom. So for everybody in the podcast, this is Lenny Moon. I'm CEO of flycoin. In terms of my career, before business school, I worked for about six years doing both startups as well as venture capitals. So I helped start a softening clinic company, as part of the original founding team back in 2000. And then also was on the investment side, investing in new early stage companies for a couple of years as a venture capitalist. And then after getting my MBA in New York, I became a mergers and acquisitions and m&a investment banker for several years. So I worked in Wall Street, focused primarily on what they call either large cap publicly traded companies or large private equity backed transactions, where I advise companies across a whole spectrum of types of complex transactions. So after several years as an investment banker, I went back into startups, to the startup world. And I was an executive at several startups. And since then, I've essentially held various executive roles, primarily CFO and CEO roles, helping to grow out startups, as well as doing a couple turnarounds. And then back in August of 2021, I joined as CEO of flycoin. And that might be a good segue for Tom to introduce himself, because he's the one that actually brought me into this enterprise. Yeah, indeed.
So, Tom, it's your turn.
Yeah. Great. Great to be here. Thanks again. So my name is Tom Hsieh. I'm the president of Flycoin. And before starting flycoin had been involved in a couple of airline startups. As you mentioned, way back early in my career, I actually started my career working for JPL, jet propulsion laboratories, for a little while. And then I went to work for what was then an early Internet startup called Earthlink. Earthlink dotnet.
Yeah, I've seen it on LinkedIn that that was the very first wave of internet companies. So a very early start in the internet business.
Exactly. Yeah. And when I joined the company pretty early on the technical team was just 10 engineers and myself and working out of a comfort dentist's office. And so I grew up the company as VP of engineering. So I helped grow that team from that 10 to about 450. Engineers, nationwide, software engineers and systems engineers, and through our company's IPO. So we were one of the early .com or $1.2 billion IPO. And it was a great ride, being with that company for the first 10 years. When I left that company, I went off and started a number of other businesses and also nonprofits. That's been something that's been very important for, for my wife and our involvement in our community and in the nonprofit space. And then a few years ago and back in 2020, had just launched an urban air mobility service to take people to and from work across track over traffic in LA. That's cool. All right.
That's FLOAT.
That's right, which stands for “fly over all traffic”. And we had a very, very successful first week after launch, a first week and a half, having started in March of 2020. And then two weeks later, we had to…
COVID…
Yeah, well, yeah.
So you were flying between the different airports in the LA area, right?
Well, yeah, most people don't realize that there are 44 or 40 general aviation airports in Southern California. That's a lot. That's I think that's even more than the number of train stations in Southern California. And if you ever, you know, ever been to LA, you know, it's ranked in the top six worst traffic places in the world. And so this was a solution that surprised me that no one had done that before.
Yeah, I actually, when I was in San Bernardino for the launch of Northern Pacific, I had a couple of days off. And I drove around the LA area. And yeah, I realized how long the distances can be, even if you're still in the LA area, but you can spend hours every day.
Yeah, that's right. That's right. Yeah. And then during non COVID seasons, the traffic is even much worse than you would have experienced.
I can imagine.
Yeah, yeah.
So now you are leading this project, flycoin. This is very closely linked to the two airlines, you are also managing northern Pacific airways, and Ravn. But this project is a standalone project. Right? So that's correct. The idea is, it becomes a loyalty program. It's going to be Northern Pacific's and Ravn’s loyalty program. But the idea is that it can be adopted by other other airlines, and eventually other partners outside of the airline industry as well outside the travel industry. So what can you tell me about flycoin? What is unique about Flycoin, as a loyalty program is blockchain based, built on ethereum? You know, for people like me that we are, I have to say, I, I follow the news about crypto and all this, but I'm not an expert. I'm kind of a newbie, and trying to make sense of it all, from a technological and from a business point of view, please guide me through the process. I mean, what's unique? And how does it work?
Yeah, so I'll start off, and then Tom, feel free to add in, you know, flycoin, you're right exists not just for Ravn or Northern Pacific, but then we already are securing partnerships with companies across the travel hospitality industry, it's just helpful, obviously, that we do have affiliated companies that are airlines that we could see as our initial customers, in terms of Flycoin and rewards programs. In general, the reason why we exist is the rewards, the travel rewards industry hasn't really progressed over the past, you know, in 20-30-40 years, essentially, it acts as some form of program where you receive a discount or you receive, you know, a free ticket. And it's expanded on over the past so many years with additional partnership, partnerships with the issuers to potentially redeem it for products, or maybe you can transfer it to, you know, other partners, such as other hotel companies, or you can go transfer back and forth between, you know, certain sectors. The problem, though, is with that sort of model, you still have limitations, limitations are, the reward itself, still is something that you don't know, the issuer can decide what the conversion rate is. So they can actually depreciate the value if they want. There's also expiration to these rewards, at any point in time to give you a little bit of a heads up, and sometimes they extend it. But then they can also expire the rewards, which means that there's nothing you can really do. Furthermore, when you do have the ability to transfer it, you actually lose value, when you try to transfer, you know, between different entities. So for example, if you have 20,000 miles with some airline, and you try to transfer to your hotel points, typically you're going to take a discount whenever you do that. And what also makes it more difficult is you sometimes have to reach certain thresholds before you can even do anything. So you continue to have these limitations with rewards programs. And what makes it also more limiting is the issuer will decide where you can redeem it, right? We call it a walled garden, they tell you that you could only redeem it for these functions and so on. But now we're sitting here in 2022, where consumers continue to have more options, right, they continue to have more things at their disposal, and especially at a time where cryptocurrency is becoming more well understood within the broader consumer base. It really is a nice intersection because a cryptocurrency is almost a perfect use case for rewards. So now how has it shifted? Well, if cryptocurrency now becomes a reward you can earn, that gets rid of the limitations that were previously there. So now it's a reward that you own. Because it's on the blockchain. It's something that is easily transferable, because it's something that you own, and you can do whatever you want with it. It also has value outside of the ecosystem of the issuer, because eventually we want our token to be tradable on the exchanges. And so this really now creates value for the consumer where the consumer has full optionality with what they have earned as reward. And we think that that is a paradigm shift in terms of how you think about loyalty, that the customer is not forced back into a particular walled garden where they can spend it. But they now actually are rewarded in a good way where they've earned something that's theirs, that they can hold on to, that potentially may even appreciate in value. And they could really use it for whatever they want. They could trade it for cash on exchanges, or they can redeem it with any of our partners.
I read the white paper you have on your website. And then it says, there's going to be a limited number of coins issued pre launch. But now I'm going to make a question that possibly all the all the advanced crypto users are going to thing is completely completely stupid question. But what prevents you from issuing more later on of this coin? What the warranty is that there's going to be a stable number that it's going to and that's going to have an effect, of course on the value if there was a limited supply.
Yeah, well, the answer to that it's actually written right into the code of the coin itself. So in the code on the you know, that you that's available, the public can read it, it will show that this is a one time event and cryptographically, we were prevented from ever minting any additional coins to this.
So there's something in the code where you program it to have just a limited amount of units. I don't know if that's the right wording for it.
Yes.
But then you issue this amount. And you said that it's not going to be available immediately. You're going to be releasing it progressively over a period of time. How does this work? I mean, what is this coin in the meantime? So you it's been issued, but it hasn't really been released into the market? Again, I might be using words that are not the proper ones. I'm just curious about the mechanism. Like how is this created technically? And how is it stored in the meantime? And how is it released? And who's going to have access to that new supply that is going to be coming into the market at certain points in time?
Yeah, so technically, the ways these tokens are created. They're minted, and they're minted on a chain. So if you think you know, Blockchain, this one is on this is minted on the Ethereum blockchain. This is an ERC 20 token. So it means the contract. So you actually write a code, it's called the blockchain contract. And that contract is available for others to read and audit and scan and verify what it says. And our contract is very simple. It just says that 100 million of these tokens are minted and can be ever be minted
100 billion tokens.
That's correct. And then the value of those tokens is what's going to be varying over time, it's going to be depending on the amount of demand and the and the users it has, the value is going to be what's going to be changing based on just like any market, right?
That is true, although for our airlines and our partners initially we are agreeing to set a minimum redemption value of two cents for each each fly token. And so as you know, the token's name is Flycoin, but the ticker symbol is FLY. And so, our airlines will redeem it for two cents each. And our launch partners will also agree to always set the minimum floor of two cents for these tokens.
So what does this mean that there's going to be a minimum floor? as a user, what are the implications?
So, as a user that means regardless of what the trading value is on exchange, that we are airlines and other launch partners will always redeem fly for at least two cents for fly or the higher up right so if the market value is higher than the redeem at the higher market value.
Okay. And then you are already using Flycoin for Ravn, Alaska. Is that right? Or you're planning to do it shortly…
So Ravn Alaska has already launched the use of their loyalty program that they are calling Flycoin. But what they're handing out right now is not the tokenized Flycoin. It's just a database of points. And then when we're very soon what we'll do is we'll replace all those points with the actual Flycoin token.
Because Flycoin, you say in the website, it's technically, legally, managed by Ravn, right?
No, it's actually flycoin. Ravn is just one of the customers. But thank you for clarifying that, because that's actually sometimes that's a confusing element people Flycoin Inc is a separate entity. Ravn is just one of our customers. And to answer your prior question, in terms of who holds that token, it's really the flycoin entity. And our customers whether through our partners, or through, you know, Ravn, Northern Pacific, the other travel hospitality partners, as their customers earn it, and it gets distributed, it leaves in a way, our ownership into the ownership of our customers.
Okay. And as a traveler, let's say, I'm just a regular traveler, I fly on Northern Pacific, and I'm entitled to get a number of tokens, I guess, for having flown a sector with the airline. Is it always going to work just like a regular loyalty program where you air miles based on the number of flights that you you make?
I think that's the best way to think about it, that for the most part, the way you earn rewards is not going to change. And the only thing that's different is, instead of earning your points, you're going to earn an equivalent dollar amount of FLY, the actual token. So that's probably the best way to think about it, where nothing has really changed, except instead of earning, let's say, you're flying on a landing on “Moon airlines” and you typically earn 11 points. Now you're going to be just earning FLY.
And what's going to be the, let's say, the user interface of this, if I am just a regular traveler, that I'm not on blockchain, not knowledgeable…how I'm going to manage this, on a personal level? What sort of tokens will I have, and how can I use them, at the practical level? how are people going to interact with this coin? Because one of the main criticisms of blockchain and cryptocurrency is that it's still kind of quote-unquote, very geeky, and like the normal user, it can be hard to understand how to use it and how to manage it.
Well, first, I'm glad that you asked that question, because that's a key point that we want out there is really, you don't have to be crypto savvy. To actually interact with this, you can almost look at it just as a reward, program itself or reward point. And so similar to the way that you currently own your rewards, you would log in to whether it's that partner website, or ideally a Flycoin website, you can see your entire balance. Now where it becomes a little bit more, quote unquote, crypto, is you can start transferring, and if you want to a wallet, to a crypto wallet and from there, ideally, you can trade. But up until that point, you'd be interacting with this in a very similar way that you are currently interacting with your rewards programs.
And we'll have to sign up, is it going to be opt in? or every passenger is going to be allocated a number of tokens? What in terms of registration or the sign up?
Yes. So that's going to depend on each partner. But for example, for Ravn Alaska, customers are already earning, whenever they fly, they earn, I think seven cents worth of Flycoin for every mile they fly. And that's put into their account so they can use that. You know those flies towards future flights, actually. Many of them are already in the hands of about 250,000 users today, almost almost $7 million worth of FLY tokens have been distributed to Ravn Alaska customers. They're using them to fly today. They don't have to know anything about cryptocurrency. They won't ever need to do any of the geeky stuff.
Okay. And then what if, if, let's say you've got a segment of passengers that are really crypto savvy, and they transfer it to their wallets can then transfer that coin to trade flycoin separately on their own with other users? Do they have this ability?
Yeah, they will, they will have. The more crypto savvy at this point can actually transfer to a crypto wallet and do whatever they want with it. Because it is there's, I think a similar sort of kind of scenario would be, for people that are currently earning rewards, they just log into that partners account, let's say United Airlines, they log into United Airlines, they see their status, they see the points, the more savvy people within points will go to like points.com on the backend and try to start transferring or trading or figuring out other ways to innovate arbitrage was points. In a similar way, I would kind of say that that's an example of somebody that's more crypto savvy, would then take the points that are the the fly that token that they earn, and then take it to the next level and do some other things that they can through exchanges or trading it.
And again, maybe a question that might sound weird, stupid, but what happens if…is there a risk that you run out of tokens? You mentioned that the 100 billion figure…let's say you are super successful, and you get millions of travelers flying with your airlines and with your partners? At what point do you run out of tokens? And then what happens? You need to buy them in the secondary market to keep offering them? Or do you need to stop offering them? What happens?
Yeah, so potentially, we could face a situation where we'll have to buy the tokens back from customers to keep offering it to new customers, you can imagine that scenario, but practically, that probably won't happen. Will probably realize with experience that it is more of an asymptotic curve, you know, where as the closer we get to depleting the tokens, the more valuable that token becomes, and so the higher the price. Therefore, the smaller a portion of the token, you know, the smaller fraction of a token you'd have to give out for the same value. And so you end up with a kind of an asymptotic curve where you'd never get to depleting it because as you get closer to running out and get more and more and more valuable.
Okay, yeah. So you imagine a world where if the token is, let's say, right now, worth two cents. And then so many years down the road, it's worth $1, you'll be earning less fly 10 years from now, because the exchanges, the exchange rate is much different.
You will be changing the let's say the amount of units that are given, but the value would be that would remain constant, the amount of value that the passenger gets
In this simplified example, yes, that's correct.
What about the tax implications of this? Because I read in some article saying…I'm not sure how in the US are treated, from a tax point of view, coins and crypto coins and, then, frequent flyer miles? I don't know if they have a specific treatment with the IRS. Are they considered money or not?
Yeah, it's a very good question. So rewards do fall under kind of a different sort of guidance for IRS purposes. And then crypto falls under different guidance for IRS purposes. The rules are still being kind of worked out. So this is something that we're keeping a very close pulse on to understand the tax implications. Because right now, things are still being, I think, a little vague in terms of the tax treatment for this. So to answer your question, it's something that we're very aware of, but it's hard to speak on what the actual tax implications are right now.
One thing I wanted to speak about as well, is that you recently announced a new funding round for Flycoin $33 million funding round. What can you tell me about this? Who are the new investors and what are these 33 million going to be invested in?
Yeah, so it's a very exciting announcement for us to come out with a significant seed raise of a little over $33 million. In terms of our investor base, our investor base includes some high net worth individuals, people that are tech entrepreneurs, as well as others that own significant properties, whether it's in sports teams, or other hotel and wine properties. So that's exciting because that provides some additional partnerships as well. We do have other institutional VCs some actual funds as investors to which provides additional validation. In the belief from an institutional level of what we are building at Flycoin in terms of the proceeds. As you discussed a little bit earlier. Some of it will be used intercompany loan to fund a portion of the Pacific spelled out, but it's also the remaining proceeds will be used to build up a Flycoin team, which includes not only resources, personnel engineers, this sort of companies, a lot of good developers, engineers. So if anybody's listening to this podcast and wants to work for fly, please let us know.
We can put a link to your website career in the career section, so that people can apply
Yeah, we will, we'll do that and follow up with you. And they will then be used to build out the technology platform, the solution of working with our partners, as well as a solution for the end customer meaning those that actually earn fly, providing working to build the app and the website and other functionality that's needed in order to, you know, create a cryptocurrency and eventually really a FinTech company. So that's what we're aggressively building out. Now, we've already had several hires on the engineering side, and continuing to hire on the product development, as well. So it's an exciting time for growth. And we're excited to now build what we're doing. The other portion is we're also securing partnerships, additional partnerships beyond Ravn and Northern Pacific.
Yeah, actually, that was my next question: what sort of partnerships are you seeking at this point in time, because that's an important part as well of the expansion from what they read in your website.
That's correct. Building the partnerships is extremely important in building out what we like to say, as the flycoin ecosystem, because we really want to get this distributed as widely as possible, as well as increase the utility of it. Because the more partners you have, the more opportunities there are for people to earn and redeem, that provides additional utility. So though we can't necessarily name the the discussions that we're currently in, it's a company's in the broader travel hospitality space, which would include other airlines, hotel companies, and other ancillary sectors that are related to travel hospitality, whether it's food and beverage, you know, buying companies and so on. So we're in the very final phases of some of these wonderful discussions, which would really be beneficial to those that are earning FLY, because it provides an opportunity for them to have additional utility, you know, other places that they can earn and redeem. Yeah, but the other reason why it's important is it creates additional value for the token itself.
Where are you physically located in California, or somewhere else?
Yeah, so we are, the physical office is headquartered in the Los Angeles metro area, in an area called Pomona, which is a little bit east. But I would say that, given our ties, we have operational presence in LA and all throughout the US. We do have a big remote employee base. That's important for hiring really, top level developers and engineers.
Okay, so your you are recruiting not just in the LA area, but just remote as well
Absolutely. All over the US.
That's an important point for people that may be considering. And so basically, that you describe the status you are in, what are the next milestones that we can expect? Any major milestones?
Yeah, I'll just mention a few. Some of the milestones are…we will be over the next few months coming out with announcements in terms of additional partnerships, which should excite our community, because that's, each one is in a way a distribution channel, we will also be we're working toward a path toward treatability on the exchanges, the crypto exchanges as well, which will also be some key milestones, because that provides sort of a market value for the actual token. So those are some of the I think, the more simplified version of what the milestones would be,
Are there going to be possibilities to exchange that with, let's say, rewards from non crypto loyalty programs? Is there going to be an exchange rate between Flycoin and, I don't know, American Airlines miles or whatever, American Express or another travel operator that has a traditional loyalty program.
So you should be part of our strategy to send him topics that we talked about internally! To answer your question, long term, you know, we are thinking through that. Right now. I think in the more immediate term, there would be a couple steps, like you would take fly in exchange for cash, fiat, and then you know, maybe buy points separately, but we are thinking through what it would take to do that more directly.
I guess it's complicated to manage all of this. From a technical point of view, I think pretty much Flycoin is ready or almost to go live? Do you have a timeframe for when it's going to be fully operational, fully active and tradable?
Yeah, so I think that it's going to still be in phases. In the coming weeks, we are going to provide the functionality where it's going to be tokenized, meaning we can actually transfer the token into people's crypto wallets. And so that'll be I would say, the first phase, the trainability is something that is a full process with the various crypto exchanges. So for that, it's been an ongoing back and forth dialogue, as well as processes and protocols that we're going through. So we can't give a specific timing on that. But we're targeting that it will be within the next four to six months, potentially earlier. But that is the current timeline in the roadmap on that.
And what about the Ravn passengers that you said, are already entitled to Flycoin? What are they going to do? How are they getting these tokens? Do they have some escrow accounts where it's deposited in the meantime? How does it work?
Yeah, so right now it's just being tracked in his internal database, like reward points with the airline. Once we tokenize them…in the terminology of any of the crypto currencies, we will AirDrop them into their accounts and in that way, they will have access to them.
So people that want to learn more about Flycoin, where should they go?
For now you can visit our website flycoin.org.
Yeah, that's very important, because if you google Flycoin, there's Flycoin.com that is a different company! I think they do ATM Terminals, something like that. So that's a different company than the flycoin we're talking about here, which is Flycoin.org
You're one step ahead of me, thank you for clarifying! Just gonna clarify that as well. So make sure you go to flycoin.org. But also it has links to our social media channels that are more crypto focused, but I think will be very interesting for people to follow and to learn. So check out the website. Feel free to follow our Twitter account, which is meant earlier on for our initial crypto community. But I think it'll provide a lot of people a good sense of the direction that we're moving toward.
Excellent. And before closing today's conversation, I just wanted to ask you about the other airline projects that we mentioned earlier, Northern Pacific Airways. I had the chance to be at the great event you had in San Bernardino presenting the first aircraft and the livery. Is there already, like a timeframe for the launch? Has there been any news on that front?
Yeah, so we were still on track hoping to launch this year. In the meantime, we're busy acquiring and preparing additional aircraft like the one you saw in Sn Bernardino
And Ravn? you relaunched an Alaskan brand, it's not exactly the previous one, because it's just part of the fleet, I think, that you kept, but you are just operating normally, I guess, and connecting different Alaskan destinations with Anchorage?
That's right. Ravn Alaska is doing well. It serves 14 Different communities
14?
Yes, yeah. One four. And it’s a crucial part of the transportation infrastructure for the state. And we're glad to be part of that.
Yeah, actually, the listeners can not see it. But we are talking on Zoom. And behind you have a very nice photo of Ravn hangar with all the planes, well not all the planes, but a significant portion of the fleet there. So it's a magnificent view! And finally FLOAT. Is it coming back?
Well, our hope is to bring FLOAT back when the timing is right. Obviously, it's still not the right time right now, during the pandemic. But Rob McKinney our CEO, he's talking about potentially a 2023 date to bring FLOAT, float shuttle back So we'll see, we'll look and see how, you know, how the economy shifts and how things develop.
That's gonna be an interesting one. I'm not sure if there are any other cases of airlines that are serving just one big metro area. I mean, Southern California, but still,it's mainly LA. I don't know if you get all the way to San Diego or something like that. But, but that's quite an interesting concept…All right…So Well, thank you very much. It's been very interesting to learn about all these different projects that you are managing and Litecoin definitely, it's something that I will be following. Because I think it's at the intersection of two major trends that I'm trying to be on top of. Obviously, I'm monitoring the airline industry, but also getting more and more interested by the day on everything that's going on in the crypto world, obviously, nowadays, it's, you know, it's hot!
Well, Miquel, thank you for having us. You know, this is fun, and you really provide a nice and calm, relaxing atmosphere to speak. So we look forward to hearing more podcasts from you but also being invited back at some point to speak more about whether it's Northern Pacific, Ravn or Flycoin.
Yeah, that would be a pleasure. Thank you so much for your time today, and all the best with your projects!
Thank you.
Why the aviation industry remains one of the hardest to electrify? Is Lithium-ion the best battery technology for the job? What are the most viable alternatives?
We will try to answer these questions with one of the leading experts in the field of battery science.
Venkat Viswanathan is an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University, where he leads a research lab focusing on aviation and transportation applications of battery technology.
Venkat, who is also an advisor to several green energy firms, has recently co-authored two papers outlining the learnings of his research in this field and explaining why incremental improvement of Li-Ion batteries may not be enough for a more wide-ranging electrification of the aviation industry.
A new paradigm is needed in battery chemistry, one based on new materials and underpinned by novel research and production techniques, involving robotics and machine learning. Lithium-metal batteries and even more advanced combinations that use non-metallic elements may hold the key to the sort of energy density increases that will make the electrification of broader segments of the aviation industry feasible.
In addition to his work at the very edge of this technological frontier, Venkat is also an excellent communicator, able to explain complex scientific concepts in a straightforward and understandable way to broad non-scientific audiences.
It is because of all this that I invite you to check today’s episode out to get a grasp of the current state of battery science and its potential applications in the aviation industry!
oday on the podcast, airline entrepreneur Tomislav Lang is going to explain the concept and business model of Flyv, short for “Fly Virtual”, a new carrier that aims to leverage algorithms and hybrid-electric aircraft to provide a new type of air mobility service in Europe.
Having managed, for a number of years, Swiss regional airline Skywork, Tomislav knows well the European air mobility space, this led him to explore some ideas to launch a new type of airline that, rather than competing with the Lufthansas and Ryanairs of this world, links, instead, the many second, third or even fourth tier airports between themselves.
On this episode of the podcast Tomislav explains how the team at Flyv is confident that the combination of algorithms, that will allow it to allocate and adjust capacity across the network on a constant and. very flexible basis, and the economics of a new generation of hybrid-electric aircraft, such as the 9-seater being developed by Electra.aero, will give it an edge in capturing a share of this latent market.
How regional air travel may look like in Europe several years from now? Tune in for today’s episode of the podcast with Flyv founder, Tomislav Lang!
Our guest today, Vishal Hiremath, has been working in the aviation sector for quite some time and it was precisely during one of those professional assignments, at Honda Jet that he realized there was plenty of potential in this small but very capable and versatile aircraft manufactured by the aerospace branch of the famous Japanese firm. This led him to co-found Jet It, together with his business partner Glenn Gonzales. Jet It is a fractional jet ownership company that is based on a fleet of Honda Jet aircraft. After initial success in the US, they have now expanded to Canada and hopped across the Atlantic to Europe, where it operates under the Jet Club brand.
The chance to learn more about this interesting little aircraft, that I have had the chance to examine, on occasion, from up close at air shows, piqued my curiosity, but what finally decided me to reach out to the founders of Jet It/JetClub to get them on the podcast is the fact that they are already looking beyond this original Honda Jet focus and preparing to go electric.
Earlier in 2021, Jet It announced it is going to become the launch customer for the Bye eFlyer 800, a sleek, disruptive all-electric aircraft that, with lower costs and no emissions, aims to disrupt the private flying scene (we have had the chance to cover on a previous podcast how executive aviation can be a test bank for new ideas and technologies!)
Tune in for our chat with Vishal, in which we talk (despite some technical difficulties, we recorded it on mobile during a car trip) on about his entrepreneurial journey, how to build an executive aviation business that is active on both sides of the Atlantic and also how he is preparing his company to enter the new era of fossil-free aviation!
Of the many startups that are pursuing the goal of building an electric airliner, Wright Electric stands out. Instead of focusing on light or regional aircraft, Wright’s founder, Jeff Engler, has decided to aim at the core of the industry, the mid-sized aircraft market.
Wright Electric is currently working to retrofit a 100-seat BAe 146 airliner with 2MW electric motors, but if all goes well, the idea is to scale this up and come up with an electric alternative to the A320/B737 models that currently dominate the skies, well…at least for the shorter, under 800mi, segment of this market.
How is Wright Electric going to do so? With which technologies? Which batteries are they evaluating to get to this so-far elusive goal?
We’ve got Jeff on the podcast to tell us all about Wright Electric, his views on the electrification of the mid-size airliner market, the pros and cons of different propulsion systems and their collaboration with airlines such as Easyjet and VivaAerobus, as well as with several research agencies and organizations, including NASA.
Tune in for an overview of one of the most daring electric aircraft programmes out there!
Widerøe is a Norwegian airline that decided to proactively become a world pioneer in the field of aviation decarbonization.
In line with Norway’s goal to decarbonize aviation as fast as possible, Widerøe started researching options to electrify its fleet. The intricate and beautiful geography of Norway plays in its favour, since many of the routes operated by Widerøe are short hops linking small communities, the perfect stage length and capacity to switch to electric aircraft that could be powered by the country’s many hydropower plants.
So, Widerøe has teamed up with Rolls-Royce and Tecnam with the goal to be a true pioneer in the field of electric flight. But it doesn’t stop there, Widerøe is also evaluating the use of eVTOLs to complement and capillarize its route network and it has also spun-off an entity, Widerøe Zero, to channel and support additional projects in the field of green aviation.
On today’s episode, Widerøe’s head of strategy, Andreas Kollbye Aks, talks about all these exciting projects, their status and future prospects and, more generally, how this Norwegian airline wants to lead the world in the path towards decarbonization!
Frédéric Aguettant is the founder of Helipass, a digital platform, based in France and operating worldwide, that lets people book helicopter rides at the tip of a click.
The helicopter operator business is very local and extremely fragmented, so when Frédéric tried to book helicopter rides at various places around the world, he found the process extremely messy and frustrating. This led him to think of the idea of creating a sort of “AirBnB of helicopters” by capitalizing as well on this prior experience in the helicopter industry.
Since it launched in 2014, Helipass has intermediated more than 67,000 helicopter rides and, despite a temporary blip in demand due to the pandemic, it has set its sights in future areas of growth.
Helipass has, thus, become a partner of the advanced air mobility research hub being developed by the region of Paris right outside the French capital and it has also signed a deal with Embraer’s eVTOL arm, EVE, to commercialize flight hours on this platform as soon as it becomes available towards 2026.
This four part series has been done in collaboration with SITA for Aircraft, a technology company that, among other things, helps airlines fly more efficiently through its suite of software products for airlines.
If you have ever flown through an area of turbulence or an active storm you are already aware of how much of a hazard weather can be. At the very least, foul weather can mean a miserable journey and, in some cases, extra fuel and maintenance costs for airlines.
This is a topic we have dealt with in this podcast before, although we had not spoken, so far about the weather. And, while weather forecasting has become increasingly more accurate, in an aviation context, adding additional layers of information and analytical tools delivering actionable recommendations can make all the difference.
Today’s guest is Victor de los Santos, product manager for eWAS Pilot, a SITA for Aircraft technology that helps pilots and airlines optimize their flight plans to cope with all sort of weather conditions, even those that can be trickier to monitor, such as high altitude ice crystals.
Victor is an experienced engineer that knows this space inside out, so this conversation really helped me understand better how airlines and pilots prepare for different weather events, which tools they have at their disposal and how this translates into a smoother ride for passengers.
Listen to this episode for a masterclass on weather and aviation!
What is happening in the world of advanced air mobility is simply fascinating, in some ways reminiscent of the early days of aviation: new technological possibilities that promise to completely transform the way we travel around.
After decades of incremental change, one may be tempted to say we are on the cusp of an entirely new era of air travel…or are we? It looks like the advanced air mobility revolution is really around the corner, but first there are some challenges it needs to sort out.
On this episode of the podcast we are going to talk in-depth about all this with two experts in the field of eVTOLs and advanced air mobility.
Chris Fernando and Basil Yap have been deeply involved in a number of projects and ventures connected to the upcoming advanced air mobility industry.
They are both partners at Hovecon, a consultancy firm that works in the eVTOL space, and co-hosts of the No U Turn Podcast, that deals with innovation and disruption in the transportation industry.
Chris is also a principal for Aviation and Emerging Technologies, at Quantitative Scientific Solutions, a big data firm, and adjunct professor and a member of the Aeronautics Advisor Board at the Florida Institute of Technology and expert in residence at Advanced Mobility Collective, a non-profit that promotes the adoption of advanced air mobility technology.
Basil, in turn, is the president of AeroX, an organisation that channels different initiatives aiming to develop an eVTOL tech hub in the state of North Carolina, and co-founder and general partner at Aero-X Ventures, a venture fund focusing on advanced air mobility.
So, tune in for a comprehensive discussion about the state of the advanced air mobility industry with Chris Fernando and Basil Yap!
Things we talk about in this episode:
-Jonathan’s background and experience in the sustainable fuels industry
-What is sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)
-What processes exist to produce sustainable aviation fuel
-What are the pros and cons of each of these processes
-What feedstocks does each process need to produce sustainable aviation fuel and how to source them
-What are synthetic fuels and how are they different from biogenic fuels
-What is the current situation of the sustainable aviation fuel industry worldwide
-Why is SAF more expensive than conventional fuel and can this change in the near future?
-What % of the total jet fuel consumption is sustainable aviation fuel?
-How do the logistics and supply chains of sustainable aviation fuel work?
-What are Neste’s plans to increase SAF production
McKinsey is considered by many the top strategy consulting firm in the world, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it is keeping an eye on the fast-evolving air mobility space.
Robin Riedel is a partner at McKinsey’s and global leader at the firm’s Disruptive Aerospace Sector, which is part of McKinsey’s Aerospace & Defence Practice.
From this vantage point, Robin, who happens to be also an aerospace engineer and a commercial jet pilot, has a rather holistic view of what goes on in this very dynamic industry.
Robin’s team at McKinsey has also been digging into some of the most promising and innovative segments of the new air mobility landscape that is just taking shape. They produce, on a regular basis, a number of reports and very informative content that aims to quantify some of its most relevant aspects, separating hype from reality and presenting a number of prospective scenarios based on hard data and the thorough analysis that characterizes McKinsey’s work.
Tune in for a conversation with one of the leading experts in the field of air mobility innovation!
Things we talk about in this episode:
-The historical background of aviation in the Balkans:
-How Serbia had one of the first airlines in the world
-The interesting story of JAT, Yugoslavia’s national airline during the Cold War
-The breakup of Yugoslavia and JAT’s successor airlines
-How Air Serbia reinvented itself after a deal between Etihad and the Serbian government
-Why is it so difficult for national airlines to thrive in the region
-The role of low cost carriers in the Balkans
-Air traffic trends in the Balkans
-The South East Europe Aviation Summit that Petar’s company (TangoSix) organizes
Californian battery startup Cuberg made headlines in March 2021 when it was announced that it has been acquired by Northvolt, the large battery manufacturer from Sweden.
What did Northvolt see in Cuberg?
Mainly the Li-Metal battery technology that Cuberg is developing, that is expected to deliver a 70% performance improvement over the current generation of Li-Ion batteries. This makes of the batteries that Cuberg is currently developing particularly interesting for the nascent electric aviation industry.
Today on the podcast we are going to talk about all this, as well as about the current state of battery technologies for air mobility, with Richard Wang, the founder and CEO of Cuberg.
Together with Richard, we are going to review the current state and prospects of the battery industry for air mobility purposes. He is also going to share some details about the Lithium-Metal technology they are developing at Cuberg and their plans to move into industrial-scale production in order to power the new generation of eVTOLs that is expected to (silently) buzz the skies of our cities in the near future.
Tune in for a chat at the very edge of the science of batteries!
Things we talk about in this episode:
-What is Falcon Electric Aviation
-How a student-team developed this project
-Who supports Falcon EA
-What are the next stages ahead for the Falcon Electric Aviation Team
Things we talk about in this episode:
-Maria’s background and her projects in sustainable aviation
-Making sense of the Swedish and Nordic sustainable aviation landscape
-Sustainable Aviation Fuel in Sweden: What is Flygreenfund?
-Electric Aviation in the Nordics: which programmes and initiatives are there?
-Why the Nordics are particularly suited to lead in green aviation
-The role of Scandinavia in the sustainable aviation movement
Roei’s background and trajectory in the aviation industry
The story of magniX: how this Australian startup moved to the US to become a leader in electric propulsion
The different green flight projects that magniX is involved in
How magniX motors powered the first ever all-electric commercial flight
The new era of innovation in aviation
France’s ban on short haul flights and how this affects green aviation
Eviation Alice’s and its expected first flight
How magniX works with electric flight innovators and entrepreneurs from around the world
How to partner with magniX
What’s ahead for magniX
Things we talk about in this episode:
The story of Dante Aeronautical & David’s work in the aerospace sector
The clean-sheet electrical plane Dante Aeronautical designed
Why Dante Aeronautical is now focusing on the hybrid-electric retrofit market
Dante Aeronautical’s projects involving seaplanes, in Australia and Spain
Prospects for commercial electric flight
Next milestones for Dante Aeronautical
Things we talk about in this episode:
-The story of PrivateFly
-The story of 4Air
-Can executive aviation be really sustainable?
-How PrivateFly and 4Air work together to offset emissions
-How do 4Air’s different tiers of environmental compliance work?
-How new propulsion technologies can transform executive aviation
-Can executive aviation be a testing ground for new green aviation tech?
-Bitcoin and private jets
How Jeff O’Neill came up with a disruptive idea for a next generation premium economy aircraft seat and crowdfunded its development.
The Zephyr seat is a new two-level seat configuration designed for the premium economy class.
In this episode Jeff shares his entrepreneurial story and the plans he has for Zephyr seat after having captured the attention of the public, media and investors.
François Chopard is the founder of Starburst, a startup accelerator and venture fund that specialized in aerospace innovation.
From commercial aviation, sustainability, space tech and defence, François’ team reviews thousands of startups every year and backs the most promising ones.
Listen to this episode for a conversation on the dynamics of aerospace entrepreneurship and the technology trends that will shape the ways we travel in decades to come.
Lukas Kaestner is the co-founder of Sustainable Aero Lab, a Hamburg-based startup accelerator that aims to nurture the new generation of sustainable aviation startups. He’s been in the podcast to share how they are going to do this and how Sustainable Aero Lab fits into the broader Hamburg aviation ecosystem.
Carmen Murer is the head of corporate communications at Synhelion, a Swiss startup that aims to produce sustainable aviation fuels from sunlight and water.
This is a fascinating new technology that has drawn the attention of major aviation firms such as Lufthansa Group and Zurich airport.
What are the pros and cons of this technology? What are the prospects of it becoming mainstream within this decade? Why synthetic aviation fuels can be an important tool in the quest to decarbonize aviation?
Carmen answers to these and other questions on today’s episode of the podcast.
Olav Mosvol Larsen, head of the carbon reduciton programme at Avinor, the firm that operates all of Norway’s airports, explains how airports can drive sustainability in the aviation industry.
In this episode of the podcast, Olav explains how Avinor became a leader in aviation sustainability and how it is engaging with many other players in the Norwegian and international aviation ecosystem to push for ever more ambitious environmental targets.
We also talk about the obstacles along the way towards green flying and Avinor is sorting them out to become a reference in the field of sustainable aviation.
The Air Race E is going to be the first all-electric air race. With the support of aviation giants such as Airbus, Jeff Zaltman, a veteran of the air racing world, is designing the ultimate air race with the technologies that are expected to define the future of aviation.
How does Air Race E work? Where and when is the race going to take place? Who’s going to take part in it?
Listen to today’s episode of the podcast for all the details!
Tomas Brødreskift is the founder and CEO of Equator Aircraft, a Norwegian startup that is developing an electric seaplane that promises to open the country’s many fjords and lakes to a carbon-free form fo transportation…and we shall add, “recreation” too, because the light seaplane model Equator Aircraft will have space for bikes, skis and even kayaks!
Despite their versatility, seaplanes have an extra layer of complexity when compared with land planes and this gets compounded when you power it with an emerging, developing technology.
In this episode we have a frank conversation with Tomas about these challenges and the difficulty of building a new aircraft type from scratch, but also about the transformative power of electric aviation and how it can be transformative for private aviation.
Faradair is a British startup that intends to transform regional air mobility, for both passengers and cargo, with its BEHA (bio Electric Hybrid Aircraft), an eye-catching 18-seat hybrid-electric STOL aircraft with a triple staggered box wing. Its founder, Neil Cloughley comes on the pod to share the details about this project as well as its ambitious plans to build hundreds of this aircraft and operate them all over the world.
Sydney Seaplanes is the largest seaplane operator in Australia. Its founder and CEO, Aaron Shaw, has come on the podcast to share his plans to transition to a carbon-free fleet as soon as possible. In this episode we talk about seaplanes, entrepreneurship and, last but not least, about Aaron’s plans to make of Sydney Seaplanes a green aviation trailblazer.
Alexandre Feray, a former Air France executive, founded Open Airlines when he saw the opportunity to develop software that helped airlines save fuel and lower carbon emissions.
Open Airlines algorithms ingest lots of airline flight data to come up with actionable recommendations that pilots can use to fly smarter and more efficiently.
In this episode of the podcast we talk with Alexandre about his entrepreneurial journey and about the ways technology can start contributing to lower aviation’s carbon footprint already today, without having to wait for a moonshot to succeed.
Ivo Boscarol is the founder and driving force behind Pipistrel, a leading player in the field of electric aircraft manufacturing.
In this episode of the podcast we review Ivo’s story, from making gliders in Slovenia more than three decades ago, its push into electric aviation way before it was fashionable, the many records, awards and milestones achieved along the way as well as the ambitious growth plans of this family-owned aircraft maker…
French aerospace entrepreneur David Gazellot is paying homage to one of the pioneers of French aviation with its new green aviation project: Avions Mauboussin.
David joins us on the podcast to explain this fascinating project to create a family of brand new hybrid STOL aircraft for regional air travel. And we also review, of course, the story of the historical Mauboussin, its time and its acomplishments.
Jason Chua is the COO of Universal Hydrogen. A veteran of Google, Airbus and United Technologies Jason has come on the podcast to explain Universal Hydrogen’s audacious plan to facilitate the adoption of hydrogen thanks to a truly innovative approach.
Universal Hydrogen’s founders have taken their inspiration from the consumables business model - which has proven to be a big success for firms such as HP and Nestlé’s Nespresso - to come up with a system for airlines convert their aircraft to hydrogen propulsion while securing long term contracts to supply hydrogen capsules to power them.
Things we talk about in this episode:
André Borschberg’s career as an aviation pioneer and entrepreneur
The Solar Impulse Project
What is H55 and what is it trying to do?
How does learning to fly on an electric plane differs from doing so on a conventional one
The future of electric aviation
What is the story of hydrogen flight startup ZeroAvia? How is it funded? How does its technology work?
And what are the next milestones for ZeroAvia after testing its first hybrid-electric demonstrator last summer?
Katya Akulinicheva, ZeroAvia’s CFO, answers all these questions and talks about how ZeroAvia aims to disrupt the aviation industry for better with its hydrogen powertrain.
Things we talk about in this episode:
General overview of the Russian aviation sector: size of the market and trends
How the Covid crisis has affected Russian air traffic
How Russian commercial aviation has been totally transformed since the messy transition of the post-Soviet years
Review of major airlines in Russia, who are the movers and shakers?
Low cost airlines in Russia, a story of growth
Regional airlines in Russia: the next big thing?
Investment in Russian airports
Development of regional airline networks in Russia
Prospects for air traffic development in Russia
Prospects for Russian-made airliners
An old industry joke says that an aircraft is “a set of parts flying in formation”.
Parts and spares are, indeed, essential for any complex machine to work properly and this is precisely the area of expertise of this episode’s guest.
Alex Duran is the co-founder, together with Jasin Colar, of Nexspares, a consultancy firm based in Zürich, Switzerland, that helps airlines the world over source their parts and spares in the most efficient way possible.
We had a chance to talk about this area of the commercial aviation business, how airlines source parts when they need them, what sort of procedures are there in place to guarantee safety and prevent counterfeiting and, more generally, how aircraft parts and spares are traded in the global market.
Things we talk about in this episode:
How this record-breaking flight was planned
The practicalities and challenges of flying across Europe in an electric aircraft
How green mobility enthusiasts from across Germany rallied behind he project
The future of green flying and prospects for electric aircraft development
Things we talk about in this episode
How does the aviation fuel market work
Why arranging aircraft re-fuelling can be a messy business
What does the IATA Fuel Data Standards Group (FDSG) do?
What are IATA’s XML fuel standards and why they matter
What is Gazpromneft-aero and why it is an early adopter of IATA’s XML fuel standards?
Has Covid-19 accelerated the adoption of digital standards in the aviation fuel world?
Back in 2009 Maria came across a former Aeroflot Tu-104 that had been left on the ground at a local airfield in Siberia since the late 1970s. This sight inspired her to find out more about that aircraft and was the start of a journey to which she has devoted plenty of time and efforts since.
Together with a group of volunteers, Maria has been painstakingly researching and restoring this aircraft, taking care of sourcing original parts and components wherever she could find them on the internet and bringing the cabin back to its original state.
As the aircraft is nearing completion, she joins us today on the podcast to tell us her story and that of this very inspiring passion project!
Jordi Candela is the director of Airports of Catalonia, a government-owned company that manages two regional airports near Barcelona. What makes this small airport operator interesting for the rest of the industry? Passenger volumes at both these airports are admittedly low, yet, each of them presents an interesting cases of specialization in a very particular niche…
Once upon a time, seaplanes had a key role in the commercial aviation industry. Those were the early heroic years of airline pioneers such as PanAm’s Juan Trippe, who established some of the first regular, reliable trans-oceanic connections with a fleet of seaplane Clippers.
Fast forward to the 21st Century and here comes Rob Ceravolo, the former US Navy top gun fighter pilot that is making seaplanes cool again.
Rob left the Navy and invested every single cent he had in order to set up a seaplane airline in South Florida. This eventually grew into Tropic Ocean Airways, which currently links several destinations in the Caribbean and New York state with a fleet of 13 amphibious aircraft.
If you think about it, seaplanes have multiple advantages in certain niche markets…and they have some disadvantages as well, for example, they require heavy maintenance and an inordinate amount of skill. Both issues that Tropic Ocean Airways has found ways to address…
In this episode we talk with Rob about his aviation and entrepreneurial journey and about seaplanes, about their pros and cons, their operational requirements and why, after several decades of neglect, it’s time for these amazing airplanes to play a larger role in the commercial aviation industry.
Ready to take a dip into the water? Check out today’s episode about the fascinating world of seaplanes!
Download this episode from:Apple Podcasts / iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts or Stitcher
Things we talk about in this episode:* Rob’s story: from fighter pilot to seaplane entrepreneur * Why seaplanes are amazing * What’s the difference between a seaplane and an amphibious plane * The story of Tropic Ocean Airways: founding a seaplane-only airline in the Caribbean * Pros and cons of seaplane operations * Why seaplane pilot training is key * The future of the seaplane industry
Resources* Tropic Ocean Airways website * Tropic Ocean Airways amazing Instagram account * My piece on The Points Guy “Seaplanes are making a comeback” * The Caribavia conference where we met with Rob * An article I published about seaplanes featuring Tropic Ocean Airways and my demonstration flight between the Caribbean islands of Sint Maarten (SXM) and Sint Eustatius (EUX) in one of their Cessna Caravan amphibians (with pics of the aircraft) * The first electrically-powered commercial flight on a seaplane * The biography of Juan Trippe that I mention (Trippe built PanAm into one of the most iconic airline brands ever, basically on the back of long range seaplane services)
One of Tropic Ocean Airways amphibious Cessnas
Podcast Music: Five Armies by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3762-five-armies
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Interview Transcript (coming soon!)(please note that, although we strive to make it as close as possible to the original recording, the transcript may not be 100% accurate)
Over the last quarter of a century and mainly through donations and volunteer work, the Qantas Founders Museum, which is a nonprofit that is independent from the airline, has assembled an amazing collection of historical aircraft that, at one point in time or another, have been in Qantas service: these include a Boeing 747, a Boeing 707 and a Super Constellation, miraculously salvaged from an aircraft graveyard in the Philippines.
I spoke with the museum’s communication manager, Nicole Kuttner, to learn more about the museum, what visitors can find there and their current projects, as well as the ways in which they are marking the Qantas centenary and, more generally, the practicalities of getting to Longreach and exploring the surrounding region.
What perspectives are there in Africa for low cost airlines? How has the growing Chinese presence in the African economy affected route networks? Which are the favourite distribution channels for airlines in Africa?
We are going to answer to these and other questions on this episode of the podcast with Tendi Mutandagayi, a consultant based in Johannesburg with many years of experience working in aviation projects involving companies such as Ethiopian, Sabre and Terrapin.
Tendi knows the African aviation industry inside out and he is going to offer us a glimpse of its main trends and developments in today’s episode of the podcast.
In this episode we travel to the sunny shores of California to speak with experienced aircraft cabin experts and founders of boutique design firm ACLA Studio Victor Carlioz and Matt Cleary.
We speak about innovation in aircraft cabin design, the tasks and challenges of aircraft cabin designers and whether the Covid-19 epidemic is going to have lasting effects in the way we understand the airline cabin and the passenger experience.
Things we talk about in this episode:
What is the New Distribution Capability (NDC) pushed by IATA
Why NDC matters for airlines and their distribution channels
How airlines currently distribute through Global Distribution Systems (GDS)
Why adoption of the NDC standard has wide regional variances
What Airgateway does in the field of NDC
Why full service carriers are the primary users of NDC and it is less relevant for low cost airlines
In this podcast we talk about the research he has conducted in the field of conversion optimization for airlines as well as some underlying trends, such as the effort some airlines are doing to prop up their non-ticket business with different sorts of digital offerings and the always constant threat of disruption that airlines face from major digital platforms.
If you are into digital marketing and commercial aviation, block some time and get ready to listen to this episode of the podcast!
Father and son team, the Duanes are the founders of Air Chathams
Air Chathams is not your typical airline.
This family-owned airline is the only operator in the world that would give you the chance to fly a regular flight on a 1950s, Convair 580 aircraft. And, as it if this was not enough, you can round-up the experience by visiting one of the most remote inhabited outposts in the planet: the Chatham Islands, a tiny archipelago (pop.400) several hundred miles off the east coast of New Zealand.
The Convair 580, a rare 1950s airliner that Air Chathams still operates on regular services….but not for long!
Think that New Zealand is at the edge of the World? You can actually go a bit further and reach the Chatham Islands, some 400 miles off the east coast of New Zealand, where the South Pacific meets the Antarctic Ocean
But Air Chathams has also an eclectic fleet that combines vintage aircraft, such as the Convairs and a WW2-era DC-3 that is used on charter flights, with a modern fleet of turboprops for different sorts of air services in and around New Zealand (they also fly to another fascinating remote outpost Norfolk Island!).
I called Duane Emeny, the current Chief Operating Officer at Air Chathams and second-generation of the founding family, all the way across 12 time zones in order to talk about this rather unique airline business, about the Chatham Islands and, more generally, about what it takes to run an airline that operates 19140s and 1950s aircraft.
Check it out!
Download this episode on:Apple Podcasts / iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts or Stitcher
Things we talk about in this episode:* The fascinating story of Air Chathams * Where are the Chatham Islands and how are they like * Operating a vintage airliner: the Convair 580 and the DC-3 * Air Chathams modern fleet: ATR-72, Saab 340, Fairchild Metroline * Air Chathams airline venture in the Kingdom of Tonga * Air Chathams flights within New Zealand and to Norfolk Island * How to book a flight on a Convair 580 * The future of the Convair vintage fleet
ResourcesAir Chathams website, in case you wish to book your Convair 580 flight!
My article on CNN about vintage airliners you can still fly, featuring Air Chathams’ Convair 580
The Chatham Islands
Norfolk Island
Convair 580
Douglas DC-3
The cabin interior of the Air Chathams DC-3
One of Air Chathams Fairchild Metroliners
Podcast Music: Five Armies by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3762-five-armies
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Interview Transcript (please note that, although we strive to make it as close as possible to the original recording, the transcript may not be 100% accurate)
Hello and welcome to the Allplane Podcast, where, every week, we explore different aspects of the aviation industry in the company of some of its most experienced, knowledgeable professionals
In order to record this episode I had to wake up way earlier than usual, since there was a twelve hour time difference with the time zone where today’s guest is based, but I think it was well worth it...
Because, today on the show, we are joined by the manager of a very, very unique airline…
Air Chathams is a unique airline, both because of the composition of its fleet and its network
It is the only airline left in the world to operate a fleet of 1950s Convair 580 aircraft on regular commercial services.
It is also unique because they act as a lifeline and link to the rest of the world, for one of the most remote and isolated communities anywhere in this planet, the Chathams Islands, a tiny archipelago several hundred miles off the coast of New Zealand, located right in the middle of the so called “roaring forties” where the South Pacific and Antarctic Ocean meet. But also, because Air Chathams is a family affair that has grown organically over the last three decades to cover a network of very interesting destinations in and around New Zealand
Duane Emeny, our guest today, is the second generation at the helm of Air Chathams.
We are going to talk about what it takes to build an airline in this part of the world, the story of its vintage fleet, which includes also a WW2-era DC-3, as well as the modern part of its fleet and the plans he holds for the future of this airline and, more generally, about the uniqueness of the destinations they fly to.
Without further ado, let me welcome Duane to the podcast!
-Hello, Duane! how are you?
-Very good. How are you?
-Very good. So you are joining us today from literally the other side of the world, from Auckland, New Zealand
-Auckland, New Zealand.
-Although you are additionally a while your company is originally based in an archipelago, it's even more remote than New Zealand and it's called the Chatham Islands and it’s 400 miles east of New Zealand's East Coast, right?
-That is correct. It's a very isolated island population 400 nautical miles off the east coast of mainland New Zealand place called the Chatham Islands and yeah, it's an island population that really has a very strong fishing and agricultural industry, so to predominantly export export products into mainland New Zealand and internationally. So it's a small island A small population that it actually has a very large GDP per capita based on the products that are harvested.
-And I guess your airline plays a role in this export activity, because you basically and that's the reason we have you here is that you operate the local airline in the islands. And that's an airline that caught my eye. A couple of years ago when I was writing an article for CNN about vintage airliners that are still operating. And I came across this airline called air chasms that you're still operating one of the few if not the only one. The only Convair 580 that is still operational, right. So that's a 1950s aircraft. You also have a DC-3 and then you have some other more modern aircraft like an ATR and I think some sign up turboprops as well. So can you please tell us a little bit about this airline and how it started and the type of very original unique fleet that you have.
-Yeah, absolutely no problem. So, yeah, it is. It is a very unique year line that we operate. The airline started in 1984 is my father Craig that started the company. He was actually living on the Chatham Islands. He was working for another very small airline at the time, and providing a service between the islands there's a main island, which is called Chatham, and then there's another small island called Pitt Island, and there are fishing communities on both of those islands. So his job at the time was making sure that the islands were connected and could go backwards and forwards using a Cessna 185, a very small airplane. And he would land on all sorts of grassy strips on both islands and transport cargo and yeah, as I say, people and everything you can imagine actually. So, you know, he spent a lot of time on the Chatham Islands and he got to know the people and he could see that there were some real issues getting produce into the mainland of New Zealand. The service at the time was very unreliable. It was subsidized by the government, but it was quite infrequent. And as I say, the reliability was affected for a number of reasons...weather...it was difficult getting to the Chatham Islands, because of its remoteness. And also, ultimately, because it was a subsidized service. the priorities of the airline providing that service was really elsewhere in their own network.
-So can I stop you here for a second, because I wanted to ask you about the islands as I checked a little bit about how they are. Do you have about 600 people living there? Something like that?
-Yeah, that's right. So the resident population currently is 600.
-It’s 6-0-0, not 600,000...
-Yeah. So that's to give an idea to our audience of how such a, this is such a, it's not just remote, but it's also kind of a small place. So it's, it's just like a village in many ways, right?
-Absolutely, it's a community where everyone knows everyone. You know, it's made up of a number of large family groups really, and and you know, those those family groups held back to the first settlers of the island in the US Like 100 sites, it is a very small community, very close community and I'm very proud community
-And how are the islands? Like, what sort of environment there is a lot?
-It's very rugged, very rugged landscape. It's part of the, what we call the roaring 40s. So it's 40 degrees latitude. And, and that brings some reasonably strong weather. We have, you know, very strong winds. The temperatures do get very cold, although we don't really have anything in the way of like heavy snow or frost. But it is quite cold with the Windchill, the windchill factor from the south is very cold because basically there's no there's no there's nothing between Antarctica and us when it comes to the wind. So it does play some challenges living on the island and it certainly poses some challenges operating aeroplanes.
-Mm hmm. Interesting. So I'm gonna post the link. Well, a few links if I can find some and transcript on the, on the show notes so that people can see how they look like I just had a look on on the internet earlier. And I found it really, really interesting. I really have a thing for this sort of unique remote, places. So that's something definitely to check out. But I interrupted you when you were explaining the story of the airline. So basically, your father realized that there was a market gap, or there was a need in the islands for better connections to the New Zealand mainland, right.
-Correct. And that's what he said. Yeah, he found that. Yeah, yeah. The, you know, with the help of the, the Chatham Islands people and some of the you know, He developed a relationship with during his time there, he was able to invest in a very small aircraft It was a Cessna 337 so they had a nickname called a push me pull you there was a centerline thrust the aircraft with one engine at the back and one in the front. So effectively It was a multi engine aircraft but on a single line thrust and any use any aircraft between Chatham Islands and pit Island but he also started flying Chad up into mainland New Zealand to a place called De Guzman and in Napier, which is on the Hawke's Bay and the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand.
-Hmm, I'm just checking now these aircraft Cessna 337. That's quite an interesting configuration, as you said, when you went into the front, one at the back
-That's right. So yeah, well, it's sort of they work at the same time both engines are. Okay, now they always had one And I guess if one stopped then you, you know, you still had one left, but I don't think it would get you very far.
-Interesting. I'm gonna post the link as well on the show notes.
-So, then you said that the small airline was a one aircraft airline. And I'm from there he kept growing it...
-Yeah, basically the demand for products of the island grew and, then, as it grew...And ultimately, you know, that takes us through to 1996. When we purchased our first Convair 580. And that was when we introduced that airplane into our fleet.
-And what did you get this Convair aircraft because that was already by the late 90s. That was already kind of vintage. I mean, that aircraft was flying already for 50 years, since the 50s and we could say it's one of the last large piston engine aircraft, right?
-Yeah, well, I mean, they all came out originally as piston radial aircraft. The one that we purchased in 1996 for the Chatham Islands was actually a Convair 340 variant with the piston radial engines. And then in the, I think it was throughout the mid 60s, that's when Convair started to retrofit the aircraft, with the Ellison propeller engines and that's really what, you know, ultimately was making those aircraft so popular with a lot of regional airlines throughout the United States and actually through Europe as well. So and, and you know, I mean, you're quite right, I mean to be introducing an aircraft like that in 1996...it certainly already had quite a life. I'm not I'm not entirely up to date with the full history of the aircraft we now call ZK-CIB, which is New Zealand registration. But it certainly did have an exciting life and had just one, one little mishap, I believe it was on takeoff where the aircraft was was departing on quite an icy runway and it actually came off the runway and the propeller went through the side fuselage, I think was a left hand prop detach and went through the side fuselage and almost right the aircraft off. So, you know, it was salvaged from the air and carried on flying and eventually ended up on, you know, one of the remotest islands in the world...
-And how did you procure this aircraft? Where did you find it?
-Yeah, it was a little bit before me, but Well, I mean, I was around, quite a bit younger, but my father went over to Canada, there's a place called Kelowna and they were actually retrofitting these aircraft. So they were buying existing hulls and they were converting them into these combi aircraft. So, effectively a combination of passenger and freight and, and also installing a large hydraulic cargo door on the rear side of the fuselage. So it could actually take a pelletized loading system using tag ons and flat pellets with straps in it so that that's really the key to it was that it allowed for the Chatham Island service you could run as a you know, it could be a full passenger aircraft carrying 39 people or it could be converted within one hour to a full freight aircraft and carry, you know, just under seven ton or you could decide to have it multiple configurations of, you know, 21 passengers with four and a half ton of freight, or a 31 passenger combination with around about two and a half ton of freight. So, it was a very versatile aircraft. And that's why it was so effective on the Chatham Islands.
-And right now you operate it in which configuration? Or you're also changing all the time?
-Yeah, all the time. We're changing it. Yeah. So depending on what the demand is, if it's a larger group that wants to come out to visit the island, and we get that quite a bit during the summer, then we'll run it as a full freight aircraft. Or if it's, you know...if the fish factories on the Chatham Islands have got a lot of product that they need to export quickly, they'll contact us and we'll fly it out as a full full freighter, so it's constantly being moved between configurations.
-So you're flying it regularly. And you could actually book it as a regular flight with any...
-Absolutely! All the flights to and from the Chatham Islands are still serviced 100% by Convair aircraft and they run on a schedule we operate. Currently it's on a very reduced period post COVID-19. But we're still operating three return flights from the Chatham Islands to the three main ports and New Zealand which is Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland. And you know, as we get closer to our summer, your winter, we will start to increase the schedule so to cater for the increase in passenger traffic demand and also a lot more fishing goes on because the weather starts to improve so the fishing boats can get out on the water and catch rock lobster and other fish species which they export.
-Wow, it must be quite an experience to fly such an aircraft.
-Yeah, we've had people from all over the world come and book on our airline, because they just love these airplanes and all they want to do is travel to the Chatahmas on a Convair and then fly again, so it is quite unique...
-And that's not the only vintage aircraft that you have in your fleet because you also have...you used to have a Douglas DC-3, right?
-Yeah, we still have a Douglas DC-3. It's a beautiful airplane. It's got a, you know, like all Douglas DC-3s that are still flying, it's got an amazing history. It came off the production line the day the the Russians invaded Berlin during WW2 so obviously at that stage the demand for aircraft going into Europe was less and so that particular plane was actually part of a number that was donated or gifted to the New Zealand Air Force and then they were used as trainers and they also saw some active duty. This particular one was on active duty in the Malayan crisis. When it came back to New Zealand it was sold what ultimately became Air New Zealand, but at the time it was called National Airways Corporation. And they were flown all around New Zealand. So initially, it was actually two airlines in New Zealand that were flying DC-3 and National Airways Corporation were actually in quite a heated competition environment so they upgraded the aircraft they implemented the what they called the skyline and mod so you know, it was soundproofing and improved cabin interiors in larger windows. So that's the shape that the aircraft is currently. From there, it went on leasing, it did some flying for an airline in Samoa, which is in the South Pacific, a South Pacific Island, from there it came back to New Zealand where it was used. Initially the plan was to use it to fly tourists around the country, but then it was actually converted to an agricultural aircraft. So it was spraying fertilizer on the farms around New Zealand, on certain parts of New Zealand. After that, it was a freighter, they pulled all the hopper equipment out for the fertilizing work and they turned it into a freighter. And it was flying between the two islands, so the North Island and the South Island of New Zealand, then it was reconverted back into a passenger aircraft. The intention was to use it on tours around the country again. But that never happened. And it found its way to the kingdom of Tonga where it was actually purchased by the Crown Prince, they have a monarchy in Tonga. And they actually had an airline up there and started operating two DC-3s. All through the Kingdom of Tonga. So they did that for quite some time. And that's really how we came to, to get our hands on the aircraft is that we took over the air service and Tonga, as we called it Chathams Pacific. It was a subsidiary of our mainline. And we purchased a hangar so that we could do our own airline maintenance at the hangar in Tongatapu, it’s an airport, which is their international airport, it connects the kingdom with New Zealand and other countries, Australia and through the Pacific. And there at the hangar was the Douglas DC-3 and my father is quite a passionate aviator. So he didn't want to see that aircraft turned into scrap. So we started a project, we got some help from Air New Zealand and some very experienced aircraft engineers that had worked on and flew the Douglas DC-3s in the past. And we slowly, but surely brought it back to life. Once we had it serviceable and certified, we actually decided to operate it ourselves. So we started flying passengers with that aircraft between Tongatapu and the Ha’apai Island group and also up into the Vava’u Island group, which is in the kingdom of Tonga. And it was actually very successful and was hands down one of the more reliable airplanes that we had because they were just so simple. They were built that way. So if you know you needed to change a cylinder, you could do that within a matter of hours. So they are very, very effective airplanes. We made the decision to exit that market, because there was at the time quite a large influence through government to accept an offer from the Chinese government for some MA-60 aircraft, and a whole aviation package around that so we just felt that it probably wasn't going to be a very fair environment to operate in and we decided that we would move out that part of our operation back to New Zealand and we took the DC-3s with us and since it got back into New Zealand we've been using it for predominantly for scenic flying and air shows so we take it to all the main shows around New Zealand and also it's based 24/7 these days in port city called Tauranga and that's on the western Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand and we've paired up with a company down there called Classic Fliers. So on the weekends and summer we take our DC-3 out for...I think, it's only 99 New Zealand dollars. I'm not sure what that is in euro...it's probably about 30 euro...we fly that aircraft for 30 minutes around the city as a sightseeing tour. It's very popular.
-Wow, that's quite a story. I'm trying to picture now this DC-3 flying in the South Pacific and then in the beautiful landscape of New Zealand that must be really, really an amazing experience. So that's only for on.demand panoramic flights. It's not on, let's say, on regular airline service, this DC-3...
-Yeah, that's right it's a line schedule days are well and truly over, but we do still use it on the on theme tours and and we do go to the shows and things like that as well. So it's beautiful. Everywhere it goes, it draws attention. And, you know, our goal now, because we are a family airline and we are very passionate about aviation, we want to make sure that people get to experience it here.
-I see some pictures online, you have it painted in a sort of retro livery…
-Yeah, so we've actually taken it back to its original paint scheme when it first started with a National Airways Corporation. And, and it was named “Pouwhaitere”, which is a Maori word for a yellow crested parakeet. And so that's the paint scheme that we've taken it back to.
-I can see you also have other aircraft in your fleet. I mean, I don't want the audience to have the impression that you are like a flying museum! I mean, you have some modern aircraft as well. You have an ATR 72, you have some SAAB 340s, Fairchild Metros...Cessnas...Can you tell us a bit more about the rest of the fleet, the modern part of the fleet?
-Yeah, no problem. So I guess it’s like anything...as an airline grows. You've got to move with the times and because we are family owned, we are limited by basically what we can afford as a family to operate. But as the airline has grown larger, we've been in a position to take advantage of some opportunities that have come our way. So we've expanded our domestic network within the North Island of New Zealand. We took over some flight routes that were previously operated by a New Zealand national carrier. And we implemented aircraft like the Metroliners...we bought into the Saab 340, which has been an extremely effective aircraft for our airline. And in more recent times, we have contracted with a company based in the United States to provide an aircraft for Tauck Tours, they are an international travel company that has guided itineraries throughout the world, including Australia and New Zealand. So we operate the New Zealand component of that with our ATR 72. So We're in a transitional state at the moment, we think we'll be retiring the Convairs within the next 12 months.
-One question, I didn't fully understand what last thing you said about the ATR 72. So that's it’s flying itineraries for groups, is it?
-Yes. So there's...if you google search...it's a company called Tauck, T-a-u-c-k, and they're an international travel company that does very high end fully guided tours all around the world. And they have an Australia and New Zealand component. So we operate the itineraries for New Zealand. So that aircraft, that ATR aircraft we purchased from Air New Zealand, we use it specifically on those charter services.
-Okay, interesting. And from what you said, you also operate on the New Zealand mainland so your route network is not only flying between the Chatham Islands and New Zealand but also inside New Zealand. And I think you also have a flight to the Norfolk island. Is this right?
-That's correct, yeah, we love flying to Norfolk Island!
-Just for the audience: it's an island, a small island, that is literally between Australia and New Zealand and it's got, from what I heard, a very unique environment and landscape.
-Right yeah! very similar to the Chathams except the temperatures are significantly better, it's a much warmer place, it's subtropical. They don't have any industry there, the only industry is tourism. So visitors from Australia and New Zealand predominantly, but in recent years, mainly from Australia. And, yes, we operate the Convair 580 from Auckland to Norfolk. So, interestingly, that's exactly the same distances as the flight from Auckland to Chatham Islands. And even more interestingly, if you flew directly from the Chatham Islands to Auckland and you carried on flying for another 580 nautical miles, you would land in Norfolk Island. So, go figure! We decided that was a route that was purpose-built for the Convair.
-So your airline should be on the agenda of pretty much everyone that is interested in these remote out spots in the south.
-Yeah, I think so
-A very unique destination network...
-Yeah. So it's probably for at least the next six months you can operate on, you know, fly on a very unique airplane to a very unique place.
-How is it like to operate such a diverse and unique fleet? I guess when you're flying a Convair 580, a 1950s Convair, a 1940s, DC-3...then you have some other aircraft...all the maintenance and all the other MRO stuff that goes around those airplanes. It must be quite complex to run an airline like that. I'm just thinking specifically about the Convair and the DC-3, they might require some maintenance work. And I don't know how easy it is to source spares and components that you might need eventually…
-Yeah, you're right. It is it is challenging and I think in the early days, you know, the mid 90s when my father first bought the Convairs, yeah, they had a lot of they had a lot of issues with just getting to grips with the aircraft, actually, because it is very complex and it's a beautifully designed airplane. Just like the DC-3, actually, it was so far ahead of its time. But it is very complex and there are a lot of systems And there are a lot of moving parts. And so, yeah, they had some interesting times. But I think, you know, having operated the aircraft for as long as we have, you know, 24 years, really then you see a lot of things and, and also in that time, we were able to build up a very good stock of space. So, we have the operating knowledge now, we have in the last decade the space to back that up. So, that actually became an extremely reliable airplane for us and they continue to be very reliable.The DC-3, it's similar, I mean, there is still a number of Douglas DC-3s around the world and there are a number of manufacturers that will provide overhaul and parts that the aircraft is obviously supported by Boeing. So, you know, all in all, it's, it is a challenge and like everything in aviation is very expensive, but yeah, it's still possible!
-What about the pilots? Do you need pilots with some specific training to fly the Convairs and the DC-3s?
-Yeah, absolutely! So we operate in accordance with our regulators. So that's the New Zealand Civil Aviation. And most of the framework of those rules come from ICAO and the FAA. So, it's very similar worldwide, with a lot of Western countries in terms of how those aviation industries are regulated. So we operate...they call it part one two five the Douglas DC-3, because that's the category that aircraft fits into, less than 30 seats. So that is operated to a very high standard of training. To give you an example, like anything if you want to fly that airplane, you have to do a ground school, you have to complete that then you have to type rating which consists of around about five hours of flying in the actual airplane that's running through a whole scenario of emergency and abnormal events. And then you have to go into line training, which, depending on whether it's an initial or upgrade training can be anywhere from sort of 10 to 15 hours online, so that's under Part one two five then with a Convairs, it's even, it's even more thorough with the Part 121, which is your larger aircraft category, over 30 seats and pilot and greater than 3.4 ton. So it's a ground school that consists of around two weeks in class. Then you go into simulators, we have one of only two fixed base Convair simulators in the world that's based on Chatham Islands. So you end up as a pilot, you'll spend probably about two weeks in the simulator, doing exercises then you'll get into the airplane itself. Complete your type rating because there's some things you can't do in a fixed base simulators, you complete your type writing in the airplane. And then you go online training for, you know, 100 hours 100 flight hours or 75 flight cycles. And then at the end of that if you've completed all your exercises, you make the grade that you'll be signed out to fly with on a regular lineup, so it's very thorough and terms of our training standards and has to be because, you know, you've got a lot of responsibility.
-Yes. Well, I guess there's not that many pilots out there that have followed this procedure. It's a pretty exclusive club.
-Yeah, yes. I mean, my father and I both fly the Convair and we both fly the Douglas DC-3. He still flies it, I haven't flown the DC-3 for a couple of years now...But, but yeah, they are complex airplanes, but they're great fun. The Convair 580 is still my favorite airplane to fly out of everything and I've flown you know, Metroliners and Saabs, as well, so yeah…!
-Wow. So they can find you out at the rudder when people come onboard! Very good and just one question that is inevitable these days: is about...well...the pandemic. You are in one of those parts of the world that have, let's say, they have best managed the whole situation. And so I guess you are now getting to normal almost close to normal?
-Yeah, it's getting normal in terms of our domestic environment. We have a level scale so it goes from level one to level four. Level four was locked down. Level three was not much different than lockdown. Level two was when a lot of those restrictions were lifted. We were in that environment for a number of weeks. And then we've just in the last two weeks transitioned back to level one, which is basically life as normal in New Zealand, but we still have very heavy restrictions on international travel into our country. So from a domestic point of view, it just feels like everything's normal again, we can go to sporting matches with stadiums full of people. You know, we can obviously get public transport...there's no restrictions on that. There's no social distancing mandated on the aircraft. So from a business point of view, it makes it a little bit easier to get things back on track, but I think it's going to take a very, very long time, and I think that the economic impact of, of COVID on our domestic market and also the global markets will be huge and is going to be realized over the next six to 12 months.
- Did the virus reach the Chatham Islands?
-No! didn't reach the Chathams and it didn't reach Norfolk Island. So yeah, that's another reason to travel there. Yeah!
-Yeah, definitely! So just for the people that might be interested in flying your airline, they should go and book on the website, right, AirChathams.co.nz and what other ways…? you also offer some tools, panoramic flights, etc. So everything is bookable there?
-Yeah, I mean, if you want to just have a look, an understanding of what we do and what aircraft we fly, just go to AirChathams.co.nz. Have a look. And if you want to book a flight, you can do that from the website. We are also on a lot of aggregators throughout the world that actually sell our products. So you can look on Skyscanner and things like that. Believe it or not, you can book a flight on a 1960s Convair via a modern platform. So it's quite quite unique.
-Yes, indeed. And I'm going to post a link on the show notes. So it's airchathams.co dot as I said. Great! So it's been so interesting to have this conversation. It's definitely a very unique airline, very unique fleet and very unique network that you are operating. So I guess that's going to be quite interesting. Too many of our listeners a derivation enthusiast and...who knows you might get some of them soon onboard your Convair or your DC-3 or your other aircraft…
-It's a very unique family and business and yeah, we're proud of what we've managed to achieve over the years since 1984. And of course you know, the future is going to be interesting as well as we unfortunately have to transition away from Convairs. It'll be a very sad day for us when we have to do that, but we're gonna move into operating more Saabs and potentially more ATRs and...just see where that takes us.
-Do you have already a calendar for the retirement of the Convairs?
-Yeah, it's been slowly been worked out. We're currently operating three Convairs. One's a a freight craft. So, that one does the flight between, predominantly, Auckland and Christchurch, which are two major cities and New Zealand. And then we have two passenger aircraft, the combis that I've spoken about mainly, and also another aircraft which we purchased from an airline called Era Aviation which were based in Alaska, that was a 50 seat on the air and it was passenger only, but you know, we called key Kiwi ingenuity and we installed seat backs. And we've actually managed to make that aircraft quite effective at carrying both passengers and freight. What we think will happen as towards the latter part of this year, will reduce our fleet to two Convairs and by around mid next year, we'll probably retire both of the Convairs, so we won't be operating anymore and our fleet. Yeah, things can change, but we're currently looking at programs to have our Saab and ATR aircraft upgraded to fly the oceanic routes out to Chatham Islands and Norfolk Island so that they can start to operate on those predominantly Convair sectors.
-Ok, so aviation enthusiasts that wish to fly the Convairs have a sort of narrow window of opportunity to do so, provided the travel restrictions are lifted, they will need to hurry up to experience these aircraft before they are gone. Good, thank you very much Duane!, it's been pleasure talking with you and learning about your very unique airline. I will post all the links and information on the show notes so that people can have a look. Thank you very much and have a great week!
-Thanks, Miquel!
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One of the great things about aviation is that, as an industry, it attracts a fair number of entrepreneurs and dynamic personalities.
This is the case of our guest today. Carl Legein is a serial aviation entrepreneur. He is the founder of Belgium-based The Aviation Factory, which manages a portfolio of aviation businesses.
Vizion Air, for example, is a virtual carrier that operates ad-hoc services for specific collectives, like, for example, the European Parliament. But The Aviation Factory stable of brands include also an executive aviation booking marketplace, companies that provide services to passengers on the ground, specialized charter providers, logistics operators and, last but not least, a company offering flights in WW2-era aircraft such as the P-51 Mustang, “the Cadillac of the Skies”!
Ladies and Gentlement, take your seats, because we are going to speak today about aviation entrepreneurship with Carl Legein!
Today’s guest, Magadalena Osowska works a senior cabin crew for one of the major Gulf carriers. She is constantly shuttling between different continents and time zones. She has even flown on some repatriation flights during this exceptional pandemic period. We have talked about this, of course, in the hope of getting a glimpse of what travel looks like in these exceptional times.
But today’s episode is, more generally, about cabin crew life, both from a professional - ever wondered how you can start a career as cabin crew and what the career path looks like? - and practical perspective - how do you organize your life when you are constantly flying long-haul?
True, air travel accounts for quite a small share of overall carbon emissions (in the region of 2-3% currently), but nevertheless its high profile and visibility make it an obvious target for climate campaigners.
The good news: there is an ever growing number of initiatives from within and outside the aerospace industry that aim to tackle this issue, with electric propulsion for aircraft getting most of the attention.
The bad news: electric may not be the most promising technology when it comes to moving towards a greener aviation industry.
Our guest today, aeronautic engineer and former fighter pilot Bjorn Fehrm, has studied thoroughly a number of different technologies that attempt to get green airliners up in the air.
Bjorn has crunched the numbers and has drawn some conclusions about what the thinks are the most realistic perspectives in the field of green flying. He’s summed it up in a series of 20 blog posts full of detailed information and analysis about environmentally-friendly propulsion technologies.
The title of the series “Why e in ePlane shall stand for environment, not electric” already gives you some clues about where this is going.
Ready to listen what these are and the implications for the future of air travel?
Executive aviation has the allure of the uber-exclusive.
While private jets remain the ultimate status symbol, entrepreneurs like former RAF pilot Adam Twidell have been working hard to make them more accessible. The company he co-founded with his wife, PrivateFly, has brought transparency and convenience to executive jet booking.
In this episode of the podcast, I speak with Adam about private jets, but also about his entrepreneurial journey and the way PrivateFly has leveraged digital channels to carve for itself a place at this very exclusive segment of the industry and how it launched the wildly popular “most scenic airport” contest, that got massive media coverage worldwide (disclaimer: I have been a member of the jury a couple of times!).
Airliner procurement often involves thinking 20 years in the future. Is this still possible? With the aviation industry in complete turmoil, we wanted to find out how the different aircraft manufacturers and aircraft programmes around the world…
Addison Schonland is the co-founder of AirInsight, a consultancy and media business (with whom I have had the chance to collaborate on several occasions) and someone that knows the aviation inside out.
It is always interesting to speak with him to get the pulse of the industry and this is exactly what I’ve done in this second episode of the Allplane podcast…
Sal Artigas is a commercial pilot and aviation entrepreneur. In this episode he will give us some insights about life as a pilot, flying turboprops in places as different as the Maldives and Northern Ireland. We will also speak about his experience setting up a helicopter operator in Barcelona and his popular youtube channel, where hundreds of thousands of visitors check some really cool airport approaches…