Note: This announcement was originally from Airflow, which was acquired by Electra.
San Francisco, CA & Westchester, NY
Airflow.aero, Inc., an aerospace company building a next-gen electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft, and Tailwind Air, a veteran-owned amphibious seaplane and air charter operation, today announced a partnership that will bring all-electric aircraft to the commercial, amphibious regional aviation market. As the movement to decarbonize aviation grows, the regional, intercity market demands innovative solutions that leverage both emerging and mature technologies to ensure clean, safe, and efficient transport. Today’s Letter of Interest (LOI) commitment from Tailwind Air makes it the exclusive Airflow Model 200 floatplane launch customer for the Mid-Atlantic and New England region. Tailwind Air will collaborate with Airflow and intends to acquire twenty M200 production aircraft.
Tailwind Air delivers regional air mobility today by utilizing access to waterways and smaller airports closer to urban cores in order to deliver time savings to customers. Pioneering the first ever New York to Boston Harbor scheduled seaplane service in 2021,Tailwind Air takes advantage of existing infrastructure in new ways and will tap the capabilities of Airflow’s distributed electric propulsion system for carbon-free regional transportation.
“The flexibility that our aircraft provides is a way for existing operators like Tailwind Air to gain a competitive advantage, reduce emissions, and offer new services. They will now be at the leading edge of sustainable flight, and we’ll be able to further refine our aircraft design for today’s operations and tomorrow’s as well. Over the last year we’ve seen strong demand for our aircraft, especially an amphibious seaplane version. Our design lends itself well to the addition of floats and a partner like Tailwind to bring this to market is a win for the entire regional air mobility market,” said Marc Ausman, CEO and co-founder, Airflow. “On the heels of our collaboration with Pipistrel and investment from industry leaders such as Plug Power, we’re confident that our aircraft will deliver benefits in addition to sustainability including lower operating costs, quieter operations, shorter takeoff and landing distances, and faster cruise speeds.”
“We actively sought out a partner that could accelerate the timeline of electric aviation’s impact in our particular segment of the market. With its combination of distributed electric propulsion and a modern airframe that still uses traditional construction, flight controls, and the like, the Airflow aircraft has a definable development timeline and a clear path to certification. There’s a lot of exciting innovation happening in aviation, but not all of it will deliver a meaningful impact in the coming decade; we think this will.” said Alan Ram, CEO of Tailwind Air. “Both of our ambitious companies will see growth in the coming years thanks to this partnership as it is set up to ensure a smooth operational integration as Tailwind’s seaplane fleet becomes carbon-free while emitting a vastly reduced noise footprint.”
