While the USA and France may not see eye to eye when it comes to French Fries, French ‘flyers’ are a different kettle of fish altogether. French aircraft manufacturer, AURA AERO recently celebrated the signing of a significant Letter of Intent with ‘one of America’s largest regional air cargo carriers’: Alpine Air Express from Provo, Utah, has opted to purchase up to 75 ERA. The ERA is a hybrid-electric aircraft designed for operational efficiency based on advanced green technology and low-cargo aviation. “As the aviation industry continues to prioritize sustainability and cost-effectiveness, this freighter aircraft is poised to become a game-changer,” AURA AERO’s press release underlines. The new order which brings the total number of ordered units to more than 570 (at a value of circa USD 9 billion), will see Alpine Air Express begin operating its new fleet before the end of this decade. Today, it runs a fleet of 80+ aircraft, operating over 100 daily regional flights across the USA, transporting freight and packages for all the major freight delivery companies (UPS, Amazon and United States Postal Services, etc.), and offering last mile delivery.
The ERA order has been signed as a decarbonization measure. “ERA is a versatile aircraft which, thanks to its wide, full opening cargo door and well-matched combination of volume and payload [1.9 tons/flight], offers a very competitive range of possibilities for regional air freight operators, reducing maintenance and energy costs by more than 50% per ton of revenue cargo, when compared to older aircraft of the same category,” the release explains.
Drew McEwen, Chief Commercial Officer of AURA AERO, detailed: “Competitive advantages of ERA as a cargo aircraft with respect to traditional turboprops, include lower operating costs, optimized payload capacity for typical short haul freight and increased safety through state-of-the-art avionics and flight controls.”
Jérémy Caussade, CEO and Co-Founder of AURA AERO, added: “We are delighted to be taking a further step forward in our collaboration with Alpine Air Express, which started last year. This order underscores the confidence in ERA’s ability to deliver not only in terms of environmental sustainability but also in operational cost savings and performance. We believe the ERA cargo aircraft will set a new standard in the cargo market.”
Alpine Air Express CEO, Michael Dancy, stated: “Some aircraft serving the regional cargo markets are expensive to maintain. Alpine is excited to utilize this next generation technology to provide long term cost controls for its customers.”
