United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
Brittany Ferries exploring potential of airborne sea-skimming ferry
Brittany Ferries is exploring the concept of a new high-speed, sustainable and more efficient form of ferry travel.
The seaglider concept is an all-electric, wing-in-ground effect vehicle (WIG), under development in at Boston-based start-up REGENT (Regional Electric Ground Effect Nautical Transport).
Brittany Ferries has signed a letter of intent which could see seagliders with a 50-150 passenger capacity sailing between the UK and France by 2028.
REGENT expects the first commercial passengers to travel on smaller electric craft by 2025.
Seagliders are a combination of the benefits of passenger ferries hydrofoils, hovercraft and conventional aircraft.
The craft are expected to fly at speeds of up to 180 mph – six times faster than conventional ferries and have a battery range of about 180 miles.
The voyage from Portsmouth to Cherbourg, for example, could be completed in as little as 40 minutes.
The seaglider concept can move significant loads over long distances at high speed.
Flight safety comes courtesy of redundant propulsion and flight control systems, with next-generation sensor suites detecting and automatically avoiding traffic at sea.
"Seaglider is an attractive and exciting concept and we look forward to working with REGENT in the months and years to come," said Frédéric Pouget, ports and operations director for Brittany Ferries.
REGENT is working on several different sizes of passenger-carrying seagliders, all of which operate on the same principle.
With next-generation battery power, they have the capability of serving routes of up to 500 miles.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Mark Jaronski of Explore Georgia on FIFA World Cup 2026
Connecting Small Businesses to Global Tourism Markets: Nate Huff of Tourism Exchange
North Carolina’s Resilience: Wit Tuttell on Recovery and Tourism
Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns
James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel
Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination
Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics
Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy
Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene
Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee
Craig Ray and the Expansion of the Blues Trail
Presenting Mississippi’s Cultural Trails with Katie Coats
BA suspending all Heathrow to Abu Dhabi flights
Turkish Airlines flight in emergency landing after pilot dies
Unexpected wave rocks cruise ship
Woman dies after going overboard in English Channel
Foreign Office issues travel advisory for winter sun destinations