NEW YORK—Every day, hundreds of aircraft fly into New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (KJFK). On Tuesday, though, the airport welcomed an aircraft unlike any that has ever graced its runways.
About 100 local officials, industry executives, city developers, and other spectators gathered at Modern Aviation’s JFK FBO to witness the approach of Beta Technologies’ Alia—the first all-electric model to fly into one of the area’s three major airports.
The demonstration also marked the first passenger-carrying electric aircraft flight in U.S. history, as Beta founder and CEO Kyle Clark flew two company employees and executives from Blade Air Mobility and Republic Airways—which he described as “potential future users.” Blade in 2021 placed a firm order for as many as 20 Beta aircraft and later completed a demonstration at White Plains’ Westchester County Airport (KHPN).
“People are like, ‘What the heck is that?’” Clark told FLYING. “We’re like, this is an all-electric airplane. And most people don’t believe you because sometimes they look at it, and they’re like, ‘You came from hundreds of miles away—what do you mean that’s an electric airplane?’”
Clark said the Alia—the same aircraft that earlier this year flew 8,000 nm across more than 25 states on a six-week barnstorm of the U.S.—lifted off from East Hampton on Long Island. It cruised at about 1,500 feet along the shoreline to JFK, an approximately 70 nm trip. Clark said the flight’s energy cost was just $7. Occupants included Blade CEO Rob Wiesenthal and Republic president Matt Koscal.
“We really wanted them to experience this before they market the seats to their customers in the future,” Clark said.
Watching Alia from the runway were representatives from the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and state officials, including Senator John Liu (D-N.Y.). Rick Cotton, executive director of the Port Authority, said electric models like Alia will be “ubiquitous” and “before you know it will be in regular service.”
“We need more electric aircraft,” Cotton mused as a conventional jet accelerated into a thunderous takeoff behind him.
Getting the All Clear
According to Clark, six years of flight testing at Plattsburgh Air Force Base (KPBG) in upstate New York led up to Tuesday’s flight.
The company first secured a special airworthiness certificate (SAC) for research and development. Once the aircraft cleared the entire flight envelope and flew a “large number of hours,” the FAA awarded it a market survey ticket.
Clark said all aircraft rolled off Beta’s production line in Vermont have those privileges. But the one that flew into JFK—tail number N916LF—was the first to carry passengers.
“[The market survey ticket] gives us the ability to train pilots, the ability to demonstrate it to customers—which we did today—and do it in this configuration,” Clark said. “It’s just another step toward certification.”
Typically, Clark said, Beta does not need to alert air traffic control (ATC) about demonstration flights. But controllers were expecting Tuesday’s flight because the Port Authority informed them.
“Our goal has been to better understand the aircraft technology, including the safeguards that have been built in, the regulatory environment surrounding electric powered aircraft, and the infrastructure requirements to apply this technology,” said Cotton.
The Port Authority is no stranger to aviation history. In 1932—before JFK was even built—Amelia Earhart flew into Newark Liberty International Airport (KEWR) in New Jersey after becoming the first woman to fly solo across the U.S. In 1970, a Boeing 747 completed history’s first transatlantic jumbo jet flight from JFK to London’s Heathrow Airport (EGLL). Alia’s New York debut is just the latest example.
“In the 1930s, it would have been impossible to predict the meteoric growth of the aviation industry,” said Cotton. “And today, we turn towards the next generation of aircraft—aircraft that are powered by electricity.”
The Port Authority also made history in 2023, when it hosted electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi demonstrations. Joby Aviation and other eVTOL developers lifted off from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport and soared between the Brooklyn Bridge and Governors Island. But navigating complex Class B airspace is a key next step.
“Today, it’s an electric flight to JFK,” said Andrew Kimball, president and CEO of NYCEDC. “Next time, we hope to continue the journey between airports and heliports…The greatest city in the world will soon have the world’s most advanced air mobility network.”
Beta aims to certify the Alia as soon as this year, with an eVTOL variant following in 2026. Its U.S. customers include UPS, United Therapeutics, Bristow Group, and the Air Force, for which it has conducted real-world demonstrations. Once Alia enters service, Kimball believes it will not only make New York greener, but drive jobs and investment, raising quality of life.
“Over the next decade, we expect to see the viability and use of advanced electric aircraft technology—like the one demonstrated by Beta here today—significantly expand,” said Cotton. “We will continue to hold safety as paramount to these demonstrations and support aggressive investments in the region and the nation’s air traffic control capabilities to support the future of aviation.”
Electric Workhorse
Alia is one of the most advanced electric designs under development.
Also known as the CX300, it is designed for a pilot to fly as many as five passengers or 1,250 pounds of cargo and can be configured for either. The model’s cruise speed of about 150 knots, demonstrated range of 336 nm, and charge time of less than one hour make it suited for regional trips with minimal downtime.
Clark said all of Alia’s components are built in-house. It is assembled at Beta’s nearly 200,000-square-foot production facility in Vermont. In 2023, New York’s Empire State Development poured $41 million into expanding the facility.
“In aerospace, there is no compromise for safety,” Clark said. “Every computer, every motor, every battery, every distribution system, all of the pieces and parts that hold the airplane up in the air—all developed up here in Vermont and New York, and a little bit down in Raleigh, [North Carolina].”
Electric batteries in the aircraft’s belly feed dual redundant electric motors in the tail, powering four vertical lift propellers and one fixed-pitch propeller. According to Clark, the configuration “makes for a really slippery, efficient airplane.”
“But it also makes a super quiet airplane,” he added. “The electric motor is silent. The prop sounds like a whooshing variable speed fan.”
Clark said he has flown on Alia “hundreds of times” as a pilot and flight test engineer, and Beta can train new pilots in a matter of days. The aircraft uses a simplified system based around flight control computers and fly-by-wire controls.
“The airplane is remarkably easy to fly, but you have to be able to manage the batteries, the electric motor, and the fly by wire system,” he said. “I could teach you to fly in 10 minutes. To manage every possible emergency, it’ll take a couple days.”
‘Do Real Stuff’
Clark said Alia over the years has evolved from a cargo and medical logistics aircraft to a passenger-carrying air taxi. And unlike competitors, it is demonstrating those capabilities in the real world.
“Our approach to entering the market here is just to do real stuff, and flying is what we do,” Clark said.
That philosophy drove the company’s ambitious barnstorm across the U.S., during which Alia visited more than 80 airports. The aircraft flew as many as four times per day in IFR, VFR, day, and night conditions, braving snowstorms and scorching heat.
In May, Beta took the technology across the Atlantic. The firm kicked off its European Grand Tour with a demonstration at Ireland’s Shannon Airport (EINN) before traversing the Irish Sea into the U.K. Now, Clark said, it is headed for Paris. The tour will culminate in delivery to Bristow Norway for extensive flight testing.
Beta is also laying the groundwork to launch operations quickly following Alia’s certification. The company in 2024 doubled its network of electric chargers, which spans about 50 locations from California to Maine and Florida. Its goal is to install 150 by the end of 2025. Competitors, such as Archer Aviation, could plug into the aircraft-agnostic systems as well.
Beta has partnerships with FBO networks Atlantic Aviation, Signature Aviation, and Shoreline Aviation to install chargers in their terminals. It could find another partner in Modern Aviation, the host of Tuesday’s flight.
“We emphasize new technology in our business, in our operations,” said Mark Carmen, president and CEO of Modern Aviation. “We embrace new information technology and systems. We utilize electric ground service equipment and fuel trucks for electrifying your fleet. We also use sustainable construction in all of our new FBO and hangar development projects.”
That owned infrastructure sets Beta apart from rivals like Archer and Joby, which similarly aim to certify electric aircraft in 2025. Both have eyes on the Big Apple. Archer, for example, in April unveiled potential routes for its New York home-to-airport service with United Airlines.
Archer and Joby have their own partnerships with Atlantic Aviation, which in October revealed plans to electrify Manhattan’s East 34th Street Heliport (6N5). Both companies will use the site as a vertiport, Atlantic said. They are also working with the Port Authority to install infrastructure at JFK and LaGuardia (KLGA).
“The Port Authority’s commitment, as it has been throughout our hundred-year history, is to continue to support the transformation of the industry and to continue to champion technology that builds a safe, sustainable, and ever more exciting future,” said Cotton.
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