Helijet has placed firm orders for four Beta Technologies’ Alia single-pilot, five-passenger eVTOLs and it plans to operate under instrument flight rules. According to Beta, the Alia will be certified by 2026, with Helijet set to begin commercial operations in southwestern British Columbia and the wider Pacific Northwest region shortly thereafter.
The contract also include options for four more aircraft, the companies said yesterday during an event at Helijet’s Victoria Harbour Heliport. They were joined by David Eby, a representative from the Canadian Advanced Air Mobility (CAAM) consortium and a British Columbia Premier.
During the announcement, Eby reiterated his province’s commitment to its long-standing carbon fuel tax and said that there would be continued provincial and federal support for companies investing in carbon-reducing technologies and related infrastructure.
British Columbia implemented North America’s first carbon tax in 2008 and raised it from CA$50 to CA$65 per tonne of carbon dioxide emissions earlier this year, in line with the minimum federal carbon tax rate. That rate will steadily increase in the coming years.
It translated into an additional tax of 49 cents (Canadian) per gallon on jet-A in 2022 and will rise to CA$1.08 by 2026. The province also provides grants for businesses switching to the use of greener energy under its CleanBC industry Fund, which already has paid CA$310 million CAD to participating businesses and will pay another CA$282 million between 2022 and 2025.
Helijet CEO Danny Sitnam said the Alia aircraft would create the opportunity to broaden the company’s passenger service network in the Vancouver area by linking its legacy helicopter service to vertiports and vertipads served by the eVTOL network in outlying areas—akin to an airline hub-and-spoke network. Helijet currently operates a fleet of Sikorsky S-76 helicopters for both scheduled passenger and charter service.
The Alia has a range of 250 nm and a top speed of 100 knots. Sitnam also said the aircraft held the promise of reducing the cost of human organ transport and high-value medical supplies in the region, including locally-produced radioactive isotopes.
Helijet became a founding member of CAAM in 2019. Other members include the National Research Council of Canada, Air Canada Cargo, CAE, Iskwew Airlines, InDro Robotics, University of British Columbia, TransLink, BC Aviation Council, University of Victoria, the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation, TELUS, Transport Canada, the Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association, and Aerial Evolution Association of Canada.
Helijet is also leading the development of Canada’s first commercial vertiport at its downtown Vancouver waterfront heliport, which would connect AAM users to an intermodal transportation hub providing road, marine, air, and rail access throughout the region.
Founded in 2017 and based in Vermont, Beta has orders from customers including UPS, Air New Zealand, Blade, and United Therapeutics, as well as contracts with the U.S. Army and Air Force. It is developing both eVTOL and electric conventional takeoff and landing versions of its aircraft.