VoltAero signs a Memorandum of Understanding with the Swiss-based SKY2SHARE business mobility provider for the pre-order of 15 Cassio electric-hybrid aircraft
VoltAero’s customer base for its Cassio aircraft family has further expanded with a pre-order for 15 of its electric-hybrid airplanes from SKY2SHARE, a Swiss-based aviation company that offers fractional ownership and is focused on radically decreasing the CO2 footprint of its operations.
This commitment begins with the five-seat Cassio 330, while also incorporating the flexibility for SKY2SHARE to incorporate the six-seat Cassio 480 and 12-seat Cassio 600 versions.
The pre-order was announced today at EBACE in Geneva, Switzerland. VoltAero and SKY2SHARE share a joint exhibit in the Palexpo convention center’s Innovation Zone Pavilion (Exhibit Hall 4-6, Booth #A20).
With this latest agreement, VoltAero has now lined up a total of 218 orders and commitments for its Cassio airplane product line.
“Cassio is perfectly tailored for SKY2SHARE’s ambitious goal of providing productive and environmentally conscious mobility services that reduce business aviation’s environmental footprint,” said Jean Botti, VoltAero’s CEO & Chief Technology Officer.
Selim Franko, SKY2SHARE Co-founder and the company’s CEO, added: “We are impressed with VoltAero’s progress in developing the Cassio aircraft family’s “clean sheet” design, which offers the right solution for our economically-viable and socially-responsible services as a truly sustainable alternative to traditional business aviation. We are thrilled that the Cassio family will allow us to radically reduce the environmental impact of our operations.”
VoltAero’s airframe configuration for Cassio is based on a sleek, aerodynamically-optimized fuselage, a forward fixed canard, and an aft-set wing with twin booms that support a high-set horizontal tail.
By integrating VoltAero’s patented electric-hybrid propulsion system into the company’s purpose-designed airframe, the Cassio aircraft family will deliver an order of magnitude higher performance as compared to the current competition, and provide significantly lower operational costs.
Production Cassio airplanes will be built in three versions, each sharing a high degree of modularity and commonality. The family will provide a highly capable and reliable product line for charter companies, regional commercial operators and private owners, as well as in utility-category service for cargo, postal delivery, and medical evacuation (Medevac) applications.
About VoltAero (www.voltaero.aero)
VoltAero is taking electric aircraft to an entirely new level. Benefitting from 80-plus years of combined pioneering expertise, VoltAero is developing a truly unique general aviation airplane family, Cassio, for safe, quiet, efficient and eco-friendly flight in electric and electric-hybrid modes.
The Cassio 1 testbed aircraft is validating the Cassio hybrid-electric powertrain, de-risking it for airworthiness certification and the subsequent application on VoltAero’s new-production airplanes. Cassio aircraft will be assembled in a purpose-built facility at Rochefort Airport in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France.
About SKY2SHARE (www.sky2share.ch)
SHY2SHARE is a B2B operator that provides on-demand flights for small and medium enterprises. This is delivered through a unique fractional ownership management program, allowing to radically reducing the environmental impact of business aviation.
First to enter service will be the Cassio 330, with five seats and powered by the 330-kilowatt electric-hybrid propulsion system. VoltAero’s follow-on six-seat Cassio 480 will have an electric-hybrid propulsion power of 480 kilowatts, while the Cassio 600 is sized at a 12-seat capacity with electric-hybrid propulsion power of 600 kilowatts.
VoltAero is headquartered at the Aérodrome de Royan-Médis in southwest France, and its Cassio aircraft are to undergo final assembly in a purpose-built facility at the Rochefort Charente-Maritime Airport in France’s Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.