First Electric Flight Test at Amazon Air

Beta Technologies has conducted the first flight test of an electric aircraft at Amazon facilities.

Thom Patterson

Friday, June 24, 2022 at 11:45 AM ET

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Beta Technologies prototype electric aircraft flew Thursday from KCVG to KILN. [Courtesy: Beta Technologies]

Key Takeaways:

Beta Technologies successfully conducted the first test flight of its Alia electric aircraft between two Amazon Air hubs, demonstrating the viability of electric aviation for cargo transport.
Amazon has deepened its investment in Beta through the Climate Pledge Fund, supporting the development of the cargo-focused Alia aircraft, which has pre-orders from major logistics and medical companies.
The Alia aircraft targets FAA certification by 2024 with a 250 nm range and 1,400 lb payload, as Beta also plans to establish a nationwide network of electric vehicle charging stations.

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Beta Technologies has conducted the first flight test of an electric aircraft at facilities of online retail giant Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) .

Beta’s Alia electric prototype demonstrator departed from Amazon Air’s “superhub” at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (KCVG) on Thursday and flew approximately 60 nautical miles to the company’s sorting hub at Wilmington Air Park (KILN) outside Dayton, Ohio.