VoltAero’s pioneering Cassio hybrid-electric aircraft is now available for U.S. fractional ownership through the company’s teaming with KinectAir, joining its on-demand flight services driven by artificial intelligence and utilizing an advanced smartphone application.
KinectAir’s “Pioneer” program opens opportunities for fractional owners to reserve share positions, or whole aircraft, in four-seat Cassio 330s – the first Cassio version of VoltAero’s hybrid-electric aircraft family to enter production. The Cassio 330 will be strategically positioned at U.S. airport locations based on user demand.
The “Pioneer” program for Cassio is to be officially launched at next week’s EAA AirVenture Oshkosh aviation gathering in Wisconsin, where VoltAero will be an exhibitor. Expressions of interest for fractional or whole ownership reservations can be made via KinectAir’s website kinectair.com/voltaero and during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, directly at VoltAero’s exhibit (booth # 3072C).
“The Jetsons future of rooftop-to-rooftop travel we see in very promising projects like Joby and Beta is just a long way out. The Cassio brings an efficient and elegant clean-sheet design for an aircraft that can take off and land on the smaller, local airfields we are already operating from. And we expect to bring it to the fleet as early as 2024,” explained KinectAir Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Evans. “This marriage of hybrid electric propulsion in conventional take off and landing aircraft (eCTOL) is the emerging leader for greening regional air travel. We put these aircraft on a network and we put the power to summon them in your hands, and that’s game changing.”
Jean Botti, VoltAero’s CEO and Chief Technology Officer, added: “As a pioneer in electric aircraft, it is highly appropriate that VoltAero is teaming with KinectAir on the ‘Pioneer’ fractional ownership program. We look forward to seeing a growing fleet of Cassio aircraft in the U.S. market, serving customers who benefit from KinectAir’s personal air mobility concept, combined with Cassio’s 800-mile range and the ability to operate from close-in airports.”
VoltAero is advancing the Cassio family’s design phase, building on the validation of its hybrid-electric powertrain through flight trials with the company’s Cassio 1 demonstrator aircraft. Production will begin with the four-seat Cassio 330, featuring a combined hybrid-electric power of 330 kilowatts. Initial Cassio 330 deliveries are targeted for the fourth quarter of 2023, to be followed by the Cassio 480 and Cassio 600, utilizing hybrid-electric propulsion rated at 480 and 600 kilowatts, respectively.
Cassio aircraft will be integrated in KinectAir’s short/medium-haul infrastructure, with the regional air mobility company applying artificial intelligence to balance passenger demand and air transport availability. KinectAir’s artificial intelligence engine and smartphone app gives passengers control over their choices – both economically and environmentally.
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 hybrid-electric and electric modes. A flight demonstrator aircraft is validating the Cassio hybrid-electric powertrain, de-risking it for airworthiness certification and the subsequent application on VoltAero’s new-production airplanes.
About KinectAir (www.kinectair.com)
KinectAir is a software aviation company focused on regional air mobility. The KinectAir smartphone App will enable people to order a direct flight from the nearest airfield to anywhere within a 1,000-mile radius. Through its “Pioneer” fractional ownership scheme, KinectAir promises aircraft ‘ownership that pays’, a one-stop-shop solution to simpler and more affordable aircraft ownership that earns owners revenue through Airbnb style aircraft utilization. To maximize efficiency and affordability for customers, artificial intelligence software will continuously optimize the air transportation supply and passenger demand across KinectAir’s operated network of aircraft – evaluating millions of schedule permutations per second and offering travelers prices that reflect their travel choices. KinectAir’s U.S. headquarters are in Washington state’s city of Vancouver.
