SAS is opening seat reservations for what it claims will be the first commercial electric aircraft flight in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark in 2028. The Scandinavian carrier is one of several prospective operators of Heart Aerospace’s 30-seat ES-30 hybrid-electric regional airliner. Bookings open at noon on June 2, 2023, with seats priced at 1,946 krona ($179) as a tribute to the year in which SAS began scheduled services.
No fees are required for seat reservations with the full payment due 30 days before the date of the flight once this is confirmed. The point of departure and the destination for the first ES-30 commercial flight are also still to be determined.
SAS signed a “letter of support” with Heart Aerospace in September 2022, having cooperated with the startup’s early efforts since 2019. The airline is committed to burning only sustainable aviation fuel on domestic flights within the Scandinavian countries from 2030 as part of a first step toward its net-zero carbon target for 2050.
The ES-30 is expected to offer carriers an all-electric range of 200 km (125 miles), with an extended full-payload range of twice that distance and the potential for longer hybrid-powered flights to 800 kkm (500 miles) with 25 passengers. These range projections take account of standard airline fuel reserves.