Regional electric aircraft developer Maeve Aerospace has announced a new design for its electric aircraft, making a change from its original 44-seat design to 80 seats.
According to information on its website, the new hybrid-electric 80-seat design will sit somewhere between turboprops and regional jets in terms of fuel consumption per seat kilometre, offering the performance of a regional jet but the fuel efficiency of a turboprop.
The Maeve Aerospace M80 will operate up to an altitude of 35,00ft (FL350), a cruise speed of 400ktas, and have an operational range of 800NM, including IFR reserves and 3% contingency. The jet will aim to cover key hub connections in North America and Europe
The clean-sheet aircraft is also anticipated to have 25% lower trip costs versus equally-sized regional jets and 20% lower seat-mile costs versus equal-sized turboprops.
As for fuel consumption, it will see over 40% reduction in fuel and is fully certified to operate on 100% hydrogen-based Power-to-Liquid fuels, eliminating CO2 emissions by 95%.
The cabin will have a total capacity of 84 passengers in a single-class cabin configuration or 76 in a dual-class cabin configuration.
Maeve has described it as the “perfect replacement of both the regional jet segment as well as the turboprop segment.”
Martin Nuesseler, CTO of Maeve Aerospace, said: “To my knowledge, there are currently no alternatives in development that are equally sustainable, cost-effective, and match the operational needs of airlines and airports. If there are, I would applaud them because we need more of these realistic solutions to become sustainable.”
The preliminary design for the M80 is expected by 2026, with a projected entry into service in 2031.
Credit: Maeve Aerospace
