Alpine Air Express orders up to 75 Aura Aero ERA aircraft
Alpine Air Express, one of America’s largest regional air cargo carriers, has signed a letter of intent to purchase up to 75 hybrid-electric regional aircraft from French startup Aura Aero.
The Utah-based carrier currently operates over 100 daily regional flights across the US, including services for major delivery companies such as UPS, Amazon and the United States Postal Services using its existing fleet of over 80 aircraft. The introduction of Aura Aero’s ERA aircraft into its fleet will help Alpine “decarbonize its operations in the coming years while operating a more efficient aircraft,” explains Aura Aero, which is targeting an entry into service before 2030.
The French manufacturer adds that the versatility of ERA – including a “wide, full opening cargo door and well matched combination of volume and payload” – 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,” compared to older aircraft of the same category.
“Competitive advantages of ERA as a cargo aircraft with respect to traditional turboprops include lower operating costs, optimised payload capacity for typical short haul freight and increased safety through state-of-the-art avionics and flight controls,” elaborated Drew McEwen, chief commercial officer of Aura Aero.
Alpine Air Express’ order builds on a MoU signed between the parties last June, covering support in areas such as FAA certification, operations and customer support services, and the development of an aircraft configuration to meet the carrier’s specific requirements.
“Some aircraft serving the regional cargo markets are expensive to maintain,” concluded Michael Dancy, Alpine Express CEO. “Alpine is excited to utilise this next generation technology to provide long term cost controls for its customers”.
