Libra Group subsidiary Space Leasing International (SLI) has ordered 25 of Beta Technologies’ Alia CX300 electric airplanes, the Vermont-based manufacturer announced on July 23. A Beta spokesperson told AIN that SLI has already placed a deposit to solidify the deal.
Founded by the Libra Group in 2023 to serve the space industry, SLI provides asset financing solutions for satellites and ground stations. Now the London-based company is expanding into the advanced air mobility sector and adding electric aircraft to its leasing portfolio.
SLI intends to lease the six-seat Alia CX300, Beta’s all-electric conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) aircraft, to operators in the intra-city and regional aviation sectors. According to SLI, the Alia aircraft will serve the lessor’s “anticipated critical-need mission set, which encompasses priority cargo and medical transport.”
Both the Alia CX300 and the Alia 250, Beta’s nearly identical eVTOL model, are designed to fit one pilot plus five passengers or up to 1,240 pounds of cargo, and they can be configured as an air ambulance. The CTOL model, which Beta aims to certify before the end of the year, has a maximum demonstrated range of 336 nm.
“Our Alia platforms are designed to support everything from sustainable business and leisure travel to essential missions like disaster response, firefighting, and humanitarian aid, answering the wide range of critical and commercial applications SLI manages,” said Beta sales lead Patrick Buckles.
“Their platform’s versatility unlocks not only commercial and leisure travel but also high-impact use cases like disaster response, firefighting, and humanitarian missions,” added Praveen Vetrivel, CEO of SLI. Vetrivel recently flew as a passenger on Beta’s Alia CX300 on a 33-mile flight from New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, the company announced along with the order.
SLI’s order builds on earlier orders that Beta has received from the Libra Group and its subsidiaries. In 2022, Lease Corporation International (LCI) signed a provisional sales agreement for up to 125 Alia 250 eVTOL aircraft to complement its portfolio of predominantly helicopters and some small airplanes. Aria Hotels, a Libra Group subsidiary based in Greece, announced last year that it plans to manage 10 Beta Alia eVTOL aircraft through a leasing agreement with LCI.
According to UK financial filings at the end of 2024, SLI is in the process of restructuring, with its various subsidiaries set to moved to a new corporate entity. At that time, it had net assets valued at $3.4 million.