Delayed

 

I missed reading this some time ago...

Hopes that Sounds Air will have electric aircraft flying from Blenheim to Wellington in a couple of years have been put on hold. When the Blenheim-based airline announced in 2021 it was working with Swedish company Heart Aerospace to have three 19-seat, ES-19 aircraft on the route, the intention was the service would begin in 2026. Sounds Air chair Rhyan Wardman said the date had now been pushed out to some time between 2028 and 2030. “Obviously these aircraft are still being developed, and Heart Aerospace are still developing their prototypes and designs,” Wardman said. Wardman said the design had increased also from 19-seat aircraft to 32-seaters. “That’s the design, it’s evolved into a 32-seater they want to go with, and we’re comfortable with that.” The cost of the acquiring the three aircraft was not being revealed, he said. Sounds Air currently had four 12-seat Cessna 208 Caravan aircraft and six Pilatus PC aircraft (nine-seaters) operating on multiple routes, with the busiest being 44 flights a week between Blenheim and Wellington. Air New Zealand was still intending to provide lower-emission aircraft from 2026, initially for cargo-only services, with an announcement on which type expected by early next year. 

The full article can be found here... https://www.stuff.co.nz/marlborough-express/300941035/sounds-air-electric-aircraft-plans-pushed-back, 17 August 2023