NASA Program Explores Hybrid-Electric ‘Double Bubble’ Airliner Concept

Design combines turbofan engines, electric tail fans, and a lifting fuselage.

Jack Daleo

Tuesday, June 09, 2026 at 02:00 PM ET

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Edited By:

Zach Vasile

Electra’s concept for a 100-passenger commercial airliner combines turbofan engines, electric tail fans, and a “double bubble” fuselage. [Credit: Electra]

Key Takeaways:

NASA's Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability (AACES) 2050 project is funding Electra's development of a novel hybrid-electric commercial airliner concept.
Electra's proposed aircraft features a "double bubble" fuselage for added lift, combined with turbofan engines and electric tail fans, projected to improve efficiency by 17% over current 2050 targets.
This concept aims for a "near-term electrification pathway," potentially seeing adoption before 2040, while fitting into existing airline and airport operations.
The initiative is part of NASA's broader effort to accelerate sustainable aviation technologies, with other partners researching advanced propulsion, fuels, and airframe designs for future commercial aviation.

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A little-known NASA project is funding the study of a next-generation commercial airliner concept that combines turbofan engines, electric tail fans, and a unique “double bubble” fuselage designed to add lift.

Hybrid-electric regional aircraft developer Electra on Monday unveiled the concept, which per the company’s analysis could deliver a 17 percent improvement on current projections for efficiency gains through 2050. The concept was borne out of NASA’s Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability (AACES) 2050 project, which is funding studies into new aircraft technologies—including advanced propulsion, fuels, and airframes—which could reshape commercial aviation in the 2040s, 2050s, and beyond.