Air Canada orders 30 electric planes to limit its polluting emissions

Air Canada has ordered 30 electric planes from Heart Aerospace, in an effort to reduce its polluting emissions. The planes, which can travel up to 500 km, can be used in 2028.

It is well known: planes are fast means of transport, but extremely polluting and bad for the planet. In an attempt to limit polluting emissions, Air Canada made a big announcement this Thursday, September 15. Indeed, the airline has ordered 30 ES-30 electric aircraft from Heart Aerospace.

Photo credit: Air Canada

These small planes can cover distances of 124 to 200 km in all-electric mode, and 249 km when the plane's battery is supplemented by generators. Finally, the plane can fly for 500 km when its capacity is limited to 25 passengers.

Air Canada orders electric planes

These planes can be used by 2028 and will be able to accommodate 30 passengers.

“With the ES-30 we can start reducing air transport emissions well before the end of this decade and the market response has been fantastic” , said Anders Forslund, founder and CEO of Heart Aerospace.

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The airline's goal with this investment is to reduce its polluting emissions by becoming a greener company. Its ultimate goal is to be emission-free by 2050.

“Air Canada has taken a leadership position in the industry to fight climate change. The introduction to our fleet of Heart Aerospace's ES-30 electric region aircraft will be a step towards our goal of net zero emissions by 2050.' , said Michael Rousseau, President and CEO of Air Canada.

Air Canada, a greener company

This is not the first time that airline Air Canada has made efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and its emissions polluting. The company has developed a sustainable aviation fuel that has already been used on four flights from San Francisco to Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Montreal.

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The airline has also developed a carbon capture system to reduce its CO2 emissions. Air Canada is the second company to order electric planes from Heart Aerospace. In 2021, United Airlines purchased 200 ES-19 aircraft, which can carry 19 passengers. These planes should be in use as early as 2026, two years earlier than those of Air Canada.

The interest of airlines in electric planes is growing as many of them want to be more environmentally friendly. At the moment, electric planes are not powerful enough to perform long-haul flights. The companies therefore prefer to favor smaller planes, with a few dozen seats, while waiting for a new, more ecological alternative.