Helijet to buy Canada's first battery-electric helicopters for passenger services

Helijet to buy Canada's first battery-electric helicopters for passenger and cargo services

Artistic rendering of Beta Technologies' ALIA 250 eVTOL aircraft used by Helijet in downtown Vancouver. (Beta Technologies/Helijet)

Helijet says its new decision to buy 100% battery-electric aircraft is one of the helicopter airline’s biggest moves since it was founded 37 years ago with just one helicopter.

The Vancouver-based helicopter airline and charter service announced today it will be the first Canadian air carrier to provide passenger and cargo services using electrical vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. Helijet has now placed firm orders for the new ALIA eVTOL aircraft from Vermont-based Beta Technologies.

The ALIA eVTOL aircraft will be integrated into Helijet’s existing network of helicopter services across southwestern British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest.

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The Beta-designed aircraft that will be used by Helijet features four smaller horizontal spinning rotors to enable the vehicle to take off, hover, and land vertically. There is also a fifth rotor on the aircraft’s rear to enable wing-born flight during cruising.

It has a maximum range of about 460 km, a maximum cruising speed of about 275 km/h, a weight limit of about 6,000 lb, and seating capacity for one pilot and up to five passengers. The battery can be recharged in less than an hour.

Helijet ALIA 250 eVTOL battery aircraft Vancouver f

Flight test of Beta Technologies’ ALIA 250 eVTOL aircraft. (Beta Technologies)

Charging of Beta Technologies’ ALIA 250 eVTOL aircraft. (Beta Technologies)

During today’s press conference held in Victoria announcing the deal, Helijet president and CEO Danny Sitnam said the aircraft will not only provide zero-emission operations and improve affordability and convenience for rural areas but also allow the airline to expand its operations for emergency response, air ambulance, and organ transfer services.

BETA Sales Director Skye Carapetyan added that the ALIA eVTOL aircraft produces just 10% of the noise of a traditional helicopter using fossil fuels.

“We are proud to partner with BETA Technologies, who are leaders in the advanced air mobility space,” said Sitnam. “We are committed to introducing and integrating zero-emission, vertical lift technologies and related ground/building infrastructure in the communities we serve and look forward to transforming our current heliport infrastructure to meet future urban air mobility vertiport standards.”

BC Premier David Eby added, “This provincial government recognizes the potential of advanced air mobility to decarbonize the aviation sector, improve regional connectivity, improve emergency response times and introduce new manufacturing opportunities in our province. We congratulate Helijet on their exciting news and look forward to British Columbia becoming a leader in the advanced air mobility sector.”

Helijet states its decision to become Beta’s first commercial customer order from Canada is due to the manufacturer’s intention to certify the aircraft for “instrument flight rules” operations and the company’s recent opening of a research and development facility in Montreal. The ALIA eVTOL aircraft is on target to receive commercial regulatory certification in 2026, which will enable the aircraft’s use for private and commercial operations.

Beta has also conducted qualitative evaluation flights with the US Federal Aviation Administration, US Air Force, and US Army and completed multiple thousand-mile-plus missions across the United States using its own charging infrastructure. It also recently opened an 189,000 sq ft production and assembly facility in the United States and flew one of its prototype aircraft across the border into Montreal.

Artistic rendering of Beta Technologies’ ALIA 250 eVTOL aircraft used by Helijet, flying over Vancouver. (Beta Technologies/Helijet)

Helijet chose Beta’s aircraft after shortlisting three aircraft manufacturers and following the development progress of their new generation battery-electric, vertical takeoff aircraft. The airline adds that they are in the process of designing Canada’s first commercial “vertiport” at its existing downtown Vancouver waterfront heliport.

In 2021, Helijet also established a partnership with New York City-based Blade Urban Air Mobility, including the introduction of the first commercially available electrical vertical aircraft in the BC market. Blade also has a partnership with Beta to replace its helicopters with new all-electric aircraft.

Helijet operates scheduled passenger airline services from its heliports in downtown Vancouver and Vancouver International Airport, as well as downtown Victoria and downtown Nanaimo.

It currently has a fleet of 19 small aircraft, which is almost entirely comprised of helicopters.

Earlier in 2023, Helijet’s major competitor, Harbour Air, completed the first flight of a battery-electric seaplane to downtown Vancouver. Harbour Air also has ambitious electrification plans for its seaplane fleet.

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