Harbour Air to add zero-emission electric plane; aims to convert whole fleet

Harbour Air has 42 planes and 12 routes. It’s adding a zero-emission electric plane to its fleet. A transition from seaplane to e-plane is set to begin. Harbour Air is embarking on what is believed to be a world first, adding an electric plane to its fleet — a zero-emission aircraft powered by a 750-horsepower electric motor. The company has 42 planes and 12 routes, and operates from centres such as Victoria, Vancouver and Seattle. It is North America’s largest seaplane airline, serving 500,000 passengers on 30,000 commercial flights every year. “The intent is to eventually convert the whole fleet,” said Harbour Air founder and CEO Greg McDougall of the move to electric planes. “It would be a staged situation because the range of the [electric] aircraft presently, with the present battery capacity, would be around a half an hour with a half-an-hour reserve. “But that’s changing very rapidly with the development of the battery technology.” The first plane to be converted will be the six-passenger DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver, which is used throughout the Harbour Air network. “The first one would be a prototype, which is basically proving the technology for Transport Canada and getting toward certification,” McDougall […]

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