Leasing group Monte this week became the latest prospective customer for Eviation’s Alice aircraft, signing a letter of intent on May 11 calling for orders for up to 30 of the all-electric fixed-wing model that will seat up to nine passengers. The UK-based company says it will provide financing and leasing options for companies wanting to operate the Alice, as well as charging infrastructure to support regional air services.
According to U.S.-based Eviation, the agreement with Monte takes the value of all the various commitments it has so far received for the Alice to $4 billion, including earlier letters of intent. It has not disclosed what pre-delivery deposit payments from customers who have so far committed to the aircraft, now expected to complete type certification under FAA’s Part 23 rules in 2027.
Six months ago, in November 2022, Eviation reported the value of provisional orders at $2 billion. Since then, the company has received commitments for a further 103 aircraft. In addition to this week’s agreement with Monte, Australia’s Northern Territory Air Service (20 aircraft), Air New Zealand (23), and Mexico-based Aerus (30) have signed letters of intent since November.
The aircraft numbers associated with the rapid doubling of the number of sales commitments would seem to imply a list price for the Alice of some $19.4 million. By comparison, existing aircraft models such as the Cessna Grand Caravan and the DHC-6 Twin Otter, for which electric propulsion systems are now being developed, cost between around $2.5 million and $5.9 million.
New Production-Conforming Prototypes Planned For Test Flights Starting in 2025
It is now nine months since Eviation made a first flight with its redesigned Alice prototype, taking off for an eight-minute sortie from Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington, on September 27. There have been no further flights since then and the company says it now plans to begin certification flight testing in 2025.
“Future flights will be driven by program requirements,” Eviation CEO Greg Davis told FutureFlight. “We will decide on the next flight based on the company’s needs as we work to develop a certification aircraft.”
Over the next two years, Eviation says it will build three more production-compliant Alice aircraft. “The first one will be built as a prototype and the two after that will be built as production aircraft and used in the certification test program.”
Eviation has not specified what changes it will make to the aircraft used for the program’s sole flight so far. At a press conference on the day of the first flight, Davis told reporters that the company pushed back the timeline for service entry due to the need to source improved batteries.
At the same time, the company also adjusted the published range for the Alice from 440 nm to 250 nm in VFR conditions. It says the aircraft will also be able to operate in IFR conditions, and will be available as a six-seat executive model.
