North America’s biggest seaplane operator is ditching the jet fuel and going green.
Vancouver, BC-based Harbour Air has committed to an all-electric fleet of aircraft.
Its entire fleet of 34 planes will get electric magni500 engines, which are made by Washington company magniX.
The airline’s 10 six-passenger de Havilland Beavers will be first to go electric.
Test flights of the new engines are expected to start in late 2019 and the conversion to electric for the entire fleet will take about two years, the company said.
"In 2018, 75% of worldwide airline flights were 1,000 miles or less in range. With magniX’s new propulsion systems coupled with emerging battery capabilities, we see tremendous potential for electric aviation," said magniX CEO Roei Ganzarski.
Harbour Air operates about 30,000 flights a year, carrying half a million passengers on short flights within the Pacific Northwest.
