The Allplane Podcast

This year’s edition of EBACE was all about sustainability, or at least that’s what the program of activities focused on.

The executive aviation industry is well aware of how it is being increasingly perceived by the public opinion in a context of climate alarm and, believe it or not, it is taking the matter very seriously.

Interestingly, and perhaps counterintuitively, there seem to be strong synergies with another segment of the aviation industry that is part of the solution: the sustainable flight innovators. In fact, the prevailing technological and market conditions make it likely that the first use cases of new propulsion technologies will be in what is currently labelled as private aviation.

Besides that, EBACE is also a great forum to meet fellow aviation professionals from across the globe, including quite a few that have been here on this podcast before.

So, I thought it would be a good idea to do a special episode with two of them, Adam Twidell, who was here on episodes and Morell Westermann, who did so in episodes .

Both have a long experience in the field of aviation, besides the fact that they are both extremely articulate and great speakers, so their insights are always very valuable.

So, in this episode I speak much less and I let both Adam and Morell share their impressions and insights from EBACE: what was interesting and what not and how the concepts, aircraft and technology that were exhibited at EBACE will shape the future of air mobility by making it greener.

So, tune in for a fascinating debate between two great minds of the aviation industry!

TNMT is the research and analysis arm of Lufthansa Innovation Hub, which is, in turn, the innovation arm of the large German airline group.

If you are into aviation tech, TNMT’s newsletter is a must. I have been a subscriber for quite some time and have even collaborated, through AeroTime, in one of its editions.

This is why I had long wanted to invite TNMT’s head of research, Ivan Terekhov, here to the podcast, to ask him about the many interesting tech developments that are transforming aviation and travel, but also because I am really fascinated by the work they do at TNMT.

Leading a small team of researchers, Ivan has been instrumental in turning TNMT’s publications in a reference in this field.

In this conversation we learn a bit more about TNMT’s methodologies and about Ivan’s views of some of the most talked about (or “hyped” in some cases, if you prefer!) technologies in aviation right now.

Tune in for a comprehensive and well informed overview of the current aviation tech scene!

Mikhail Kokorich is a serial entrepreneur operating at the technology frontier of aerospace.

Following a string of successful business launches in areas such as satellite technology, his latest venture, Swiss-based Destinus is developing an hypersonic aircraft capable of linking different continents at speeds five times faster than sound.

This may sound outlandish, but there is currently a wave of startups that taking advantages of advances in materials science and renewed interest among the world’s governments in hypersonic capabilities in order to explore this potentially disruptive technology.

I really appreciated Mikhail’s straightforward and not-mincing-words style in addressing some of the aspects of hypersonics development, from the role of military research projects to the sustainability angle.

This direct, hands-on approach is also evident in some of the startup’s latest milestones. Far from working on abstract concepts, Destinus is already testing some small-scale prototypes (not hypersonically yet!) and is creating a network of partners across Europe (for example, it recently received a €13M grant from the Spanish government to further its research in this field). Some new tangible developments are expected in the next few months.

So, how long before we are able to hop across the Atlantic in a couple of hours?

Tune in for this fascinating conversation (despite my voice still ailing from a cold!) about one of the most exciting aerospace technologies currently under development!

When it comes to the passenger experience and the product most airlines offer to their passengers, Jeff O’Neill has pretty strong opinions.

Not for nothing, Jeff, who was already on this podcast back in 2020, is the founder of Zephyr Aircraft Seat and has been patiently working to bring to fruition what he sees as the future of the Premium Economy class.

The Zephyr seat is as revolutionary as it looks: a stacked seat concept that allows passengers to lay down flat to sleep without having to pay a fortune for a fancy business class seat. Now, this idea is, of course, a departure from the canon of the industry, which won’t face an easy path to become a reality.

If airlines have tended to be traditional in its approach to seating, this doesn’t discourage Jeff, as well as other creative minds in this industry from continuing to pursue what he regards as a necessary update of the passenger experience.

After years of investment by airlines in perfecting the business class cabin, has the time come for a rethink of the premium economy and economy class experiences?

We talk with Jeff about all this and he also shares some tips and insights about his favourite airline products currently in the market, both premium and economy.

So tune in for a fascinating conversation about what makes for a great airline cabin product and passenger experience!

Omer Bar-Yohay is the president of AutoFlight.

AutoFlight is as close as it gets in the eVTOL world to a global company: founded and headquartered in China, where it has its manufacturing facility, its design and development team and some of its major investors are located in Germany and its operational testing grounds in the California.

Although, perhaps it hasn’t got, so far, as much press as other major eVTOL players, AutoFlight has been collecting some notable successes: in February 2023, AutoFlight’s Prosperity set a new record for a nonstop eVTOL flight, 250km on a single battery charge (beating by 2km the previous record-holder, Joby) and just a few days later it announced a massive 205-strong aircraft order from EVFLY, a firm that intends to launch eVTOL operations in Southeast Asia, Middle East, and Africa before the end of this decade.

But what I also found quite interesting is that Omer defines himself first and foremost as a realist, so I was really keen to learn his views about the eVTOL euphoria we are living through and get a realistic assessment of the market situation and the prospects for eVTOL developers from an experienced industry insider like him.

There are certainly few people out there with as much direct hands-on experience of the new forms of air mobility that are taking shape!

So tune in for a fascinating conversation with Omer Bar-Yohay, president of AutoFlight!

Hemant Mistry, our guest today, is the director of energy transition at the world’s top airline industry organisation, IATA, which gathers nearly 300 airlines from all over the world.

With Hemant we review the strategy of priorities that IATA has set for its members and the industry’s position in matters such as the sustainable fuel mandates being introduced, for example, by the European Union.

But IATA’s task is not all about coordination among its members and lobbying, there are also a number of practical initiatives we talk about, such as IATA Connect, which provides a useful and easily shareable framework for airlines and other players in the air transportation and travel market to assess their carbon footprint, a necessary first step to take action to mitigate it.

So, tune in for a sharp and concise overview of how the main organization representing the airline industry views the future of sustainable flight.

Ivor von Dartel left the comfort and security of a corporate job at Airbus to develop an all-electric battery-powered aircraft.

Munich-based Vaeridion is one of the most promising players in the emerging field of electric aviation. The 9-seater, 500km-range electric aircraft that Ivor’s team is working on is designed to shuttle travellers, carbon-free, across the sort of short to medium range distances that nowadays are often covered by road transport.

Launching a new aircraft from scratch is, of course, a formidable and very capital intensive endeavour, but the advent of new propulsion technologies opens a blue ocean of opportunities for those willing to take on the challenge.

With the electric aviation scene gathering momentum, I thought it was the right time to touch base with Ivor and find out more about the background of this project, his own personal motivations to lead it and the milestones and perspectives ahead of the Vaeridion team.

Tune in for an inspiring tale of entrepreneurship as well as a glimpse of what could be future of air mobility in years to come!

Gregory Davis heads one of the most talked-about startups of the electric aviation era.

In fact, Eviation was already cool when almost no one was talking about electric aircraft and aviation sustainability.

The super sleek lines of its Alice commuter aircraft are due to the fact that this truly clean-sheet aircraft has been designed around the batteries, making a truly electric-native aircraft.

in this episode of the podcast we review with Gregory the latest developments since he took the reigns of Eviation in early 2022, including, of course, the Alice’s first flight in September 2022, but many other things as well.

We talk about the earlier story of the company since it was founded in Israel in 2015, its current order book and commercial prospects and the different use cases use cases and versions of the Alice that Eviation’s team is working on.

When can we expect the next flights of the Alice prototype? When is it expected to get certified? When is it expected to enter commercial service?

You will have to listen to today’s episode to get the answers direct from Eviation’s Greogry Davis!

This is not the first time that Morell Westermann visits this podcast.

Those of you that were around in 2020, when we were just taking off, might remember how Morell Westermann and Malik Aziz explained here their record-setting electric flight across the whole length of Germany.

Well, Morell is back at record setting, this time, at aeroFriedrichshafen, in Southern Germany. Europe’s largest general aviation show, will have a special opening act with the arrival of what is intended to be the largest formation of electrically-powered aircraft ever to fly together.

Electric aircraft from all over Europe will gather at an airfield in the canton of Sankt Gallen, Switzerland, and cross the water of Lake Constance to make a coordinated arrival at the show.

This will be a remarkable feat in itself, but I thought that was also a good excuse to invite Morell back to the podcast in order to take the pulse of the electric aviation industry from a pilot’s perspective.

In addition to his work as a technology and innovation consultant and key note speaker, Morell is a keen and experienced aviator and a very active member of the, still small, but growing electric aviation community. We may even call him an evangelist of electric flight!

So, tune in for an overview of a movement that is starting to transform the way people fly!