Beta Technologies Alia CX300 Electric CTOL Aircraft Flies at Farnborough Airshow 2026

Beta Technologies flew its Alia CX300 CTOL (conventional takeoff and landing) aircraft at the 2026 Farnborough International Airshow. The company is offering the aircraft in both cargo and passenger-carrying variants, and is working to achieve FAA type certification later this year. The company is also developing the Alia 250 eVTOL model, and showed a militarized uncrewed variant of that aircraft during the show, called the MV250.

The economics, Beta executives argue, are the point. Comparing the CX300 to a Cessna 208, the company put the electric airplane’s operating cost at roughly $450 per hour against $800 to $850 for the turbine-powered Caravan, with the eVTOL variant offering savings of about 75% over a comparable helicopter.

Customers appear to be buying the argument. Beta has reported an order backlog of approximately $3.9 billion across roughly 991 aircraft. The company, which went public in November 2025, reported first-quarter revenue of $10.1 million in May.