BETA progresses passenger-focused ALIA aircraft

BETA Technologies, an electric aerospace company located in Burlington, Vermont, has unveiled an early look at its passenger variant fixed-wing and VTOL ALIA aircraft concept.

The company, which plans to enter into service with its cargo- and medical-focused variant as soon as 2025, will aim to launch its passenger aircraft into service thereafter. 

The company’s passenger-focused ALIA aircraft is designed to be able to comfortably carry up to five passengers plus a pilot, and the sizable cabin has adequate volume to accommodate carry-on as well as TSA secure luggage.

Similar to BETA’s other aircraft, it was developed with safety and utility in mind and will be certified for instrument flight rules (IFR) operations and will be capable of all-weather flying with FIKI certification. 

Optimized for volume and range, similar to BETA’s other platform configurations, this aircraft is designed to carry out a variety of passenger missions, including intra-city and regional transport routes.

For the past several years, BETA’s design team has worked hand-in-hand with legacy operators to develop an aircraft that will practically serve its diverse passenger-focused customer base.

As part of this effort, the company is incorporating design feedback and features from various regional and tourism operators to optimize for comfort, safety, and service.  

“At BETA, we see electric aviation technology as transcending one single mission set,” said Kyle Clark, BETA’s founder and CEO. “We designed ALIA to be a versatile platform that has tons of capability across sectors, and now we’re starting to step into that vision. With their high dispatch rate and low maintenance and operational energy costs, our electric passenger aircraft will unlock new routes for operators, further increasing the size of the pie.”

The company’s first passenger customer, Blade, placed a financially-backed order for up to 20 of BETA’s eVTOL in 2021. Since then, LCI has announced that it will be utilizing BETA’s aircraft to transport guests to the Aria Hotels in Greece, and Helijet has placed a firm order for four eVTOLs with an option for four more – with the intention of utilizing them for both cargo and passenger mission sets.

Several of BETA’s other customers conduct both cargo and passenger transport, opening up the possibility of additional passenger services in the future. 

This press release was prepared and distributed by BETA Technologies.