According to analysts, the listing was relatively subdued, as investor sentiment remains cautious amid a prolonged US government shutdown and, more significantly, the tariff war initiated by the Donald Trump administration earlier this year. These factors have fueled market uncertainty and disrupted several IPO launches.

Nonetheless, GE Aerospace-backed Beta has emerged as one of the leading publicly listed players in the electric aircraft space. Its peers, Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation, both of which went public in 2021 via blank-check mergers, are currently valued at USD 6.72 billion and USD 14.45 billion, respectively.

Joining The eVTOL Revolution

Beta Technologies is currently designing and making electric aircraft, advanced electric propulsion systems, charging systems, and aircraft components. While eVTOL, as a sector, will provide cheaper and quieter alternatives to helicopters for emergency medical services, cargo, and defence, Beta eyes its variant for the same purposes to get certified by late 2027 or early 2028. As per the company’s internal estimates, the aircraft can reduce operational expenses by 74% compared with traditional helicopters.

The aircraft platform, ALIA, consists of two variants — a conventional fixed-wing electric aeroplane (ALIA CTOL) and an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (ALIA VTOL), options that would facilitate cost-effective and safe missions across cargo and logistics, defence, passenger, and medical end markets. In addition, Beta is deploying its charging infrastructure to enable the industry, with more than 50 sites online across the United States and Canada.

As per Beta, ALIA has flown more piloted miles than any other eVTOL through flight tests and partner engagements. The aircraft has flown through, landed in, and reportedly covered more than half of the United States and parts of Canada.

In the process, ALIA’s VTOL variant has recorded an energy cost worth USD 28 per hour, against Bell 407 chopper’s USD 311/hour, while registering 84% fewer emissions than conventional helicopters. The CTOL variant, on the other hand, possesses an energy cost worth USD 18 per hour against Cessna 208’s USD 347/hour, while bringing down the pollution footprint (operational) by 75%.

Talking about the eVTOL charging network created by the start-up, “Beta Chargers” is supporting airports’ existing electric vehicle fleets while simultaneously meeting the operational requirements of the leading electric aircraft manufacturers, from helping their clients to secure local and state grants for bringing electric access to communities.

While Beta’s “Thermal Management System” seamlessly integrates with the Charge Cube (a charge solution designed for permanent installation at airports), maximising efficiency and battery longevity through optimal battery conditioning, the charging network also supports multiple payment methods, including plug-and-charge, so the user can complete transactions quickly and securely without the need for additional accounts or cards.

The Charge Cube itself has been a fine example of innovation, leading the next generation of the eVTOL boom. At four feet tall, Beta’s Charge Cubes easily fit underneath an aircraft wing and offer a plug-and-charge experience to pilots and crew who operate them.

While the overall charging process takes 50 minutes or less, the 50-foot cord provides flexibility in aircraft parking orientation and location to minimise aircraft ground handling and maintain a safe distance between the aircraft and its Charge Cube.

Innovative And Cutting-edge Power Plant

Beta Technologies produces its own propulsion system to power ALIA, using engines that lift, push, and manage power distribution in a hybrid manner, making it ideal for urban air mobility, VTOL, and CTOL (conventional take-off and landing) applications.

The quad-redundant operations-expanding vehicle mover is 684 millimetres in diameter, providing high torque for high power-density operations and enabling aircraft to take off and land vertically in every element.

This kilowatt-sipping, high-efficiency, sensorless-controlled motor, 566 millimetres in diameter, gives aircraft climb and range flexibility thanks to its dual-redundant internal rotor with an integrated hollow shaft.

Every Beta propulsion system is designed, validated, conformed, and customised to the operational requirements of the start-up’s customers and their mission. For example, the H500A pusher and V600A lift engines, designed to meet the operating needs of emergency medical tissue transport carriers, also address the requirement of decarbonising air transportation by going all-electric.

Beta Technologies’ electric propulsion systems are setting the standards for state-of-the-art electric motor technology, innovation, advanced materials, and production processes. In contrast to conventional aircraft engines, these systems require 1,000x fewer parts while registering over 70,000 hours of continuous prop-stand flight test since 2021. In terms of engine efficiency (the ratio of the output of an engine to its input), H500A stands at 98%, as against the 30% of its legacy counterparts.

Creating An Ecosystem

Beta Technologies’ energy storage systems feature multiple redundant protections against unlikely thermal runaway events, communications glitches, non-uniform discharges, and environmental interruptions. The packs delivered by the start-up meet stringent requirements per DO-160G and minimise additional hazards during a worst-case thermal runaway condition.

The energy storage system is composed of multiple battery packs, built from thousands of individual battery cells, connected in parallel through a distribution system designed to provide safety, market-leading energy density, and redundancy for all power requirements. These packs also possess other safety features like a built-in fire detection system, sub-pack containment for worst-case thermal runaway, and overboard emergency exhaust venting.

Also, mention must be made of Beta’s innovative flight control computer (FCC), which is currently serving as the nerve centre of the start-up’s aircraft prototypes and is ready for integration into a variety of aircraft platforms.

“Our flight control computer is more than just control laws — it consolidates pilot inputs, digital communication, and control logic in a small form factor box for efficient installation on an aircraft. Our completely fly-by-wire (FBW) system is future-proofed with autonomy applications in mind,” Beta commented.

While Beta Technologies’ team of pilots, engineers, and technicians have brought their aviation-related expertise to design a simple-to-build and intuitive-to-fly kind of flight control system, the venture is now teaming up with industry players to make its product the new normal in the eVTOL market, enabling truly transformative urban air mobility solutions.

Image Credits: Beta Technologies

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After learning that the strike schedule would proceed, the airline decided to cancel the Perth and Sao Paulo routes, Khaya Buthelezi, senior manager of corporate relations for the airline, told Reuters.

“That’s the decision we took last night since we could not find partner airlines that we can transfer our customers to, it became clear that those two routes must be cancelled,” he said, as reported by Zawya.

Buthelezi further said that because the airline had prepared backup plans, there were no disruptions to domestic flights or routes throughout Africa early.

Buthelezi reported seeing some pilots picketing outside the SAA office at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport.

However, South African Airways managed to ensure the suspension of the pilots’ strike that commenced on December 7 early morning, by effecting an agreement post the “productive discussions” between SAA’s Executive Management and the South African Airways Pilots Association (SAAPA).

As part of the resolution, management has agreed to a further 1% salary increase, bringing the total salary increase for SAA pilots to 9.47%.

Speaking to public news broadcaster SABC, SAA pilot Sibusiso Nxumalo, speaking on behalf of the National Transport Movement Pilots Forum and the SAA Pilots Association (SAAPA), stated that their demands went beyond money and focused on improved working conditions and employment conditions.

“The company has made a profit in the past couple of months. It’s not like we want a piece of that pie, we just want to have better working conditions,” Nxumalo said.

In a statement released by SAA, it was noted that the initial demand made by SAAPA in May 2024 for a 30% increase in pilot salaries was later reduced to 15%, along with related benefits.

According to a statement from SAA’s acting CEO, John Lamola, the company’s decline into bankruptcy would be triggered by the demand for a 15% pay increase.

An 8%–46% pay raise retroactive to April has been offered by the airline. Before the national carrier filed for bankruptcy protection in 2019, it was about to be liquidated.

Meanwhile, the first net profit reported by South African Airways in more than ten years marks a significant turning point in the airline’s recovery.

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Flydubai’s Chief Executive Officer, Ghaith Al Ghaith, said, “Flydubai has expanded to employ over 5,800 highly qualified individuals from 140 different countries, with over 1,200 of them being pilots. By the end of this year, we plan to have hired over 130 new pilots.”

Al Ghaith stated that the airline has more than 440 workers this year, a 6% increase from the previous one. According to him, there is a continuous recruitment drive to bolster the team with more talented and competent employees and foster the expansion of the business.

As part of its commitment to nurturing local talent, flydubai has attracted more UAE Nationals over the past two years, who assumed various roles across the organisation. The venture is also offering apprenticeship opportunities in various departments, including engineering, as well as special programmes for UAE national pilots and employees in other departments to support future growth opportunities.

“With our headquarters in Dubai, flydubai has expanded to service over 125 locations in 58 countries with a modern, effective fleet of 88 Boeing 737 aircraft,” Al Ghaith said.

He emphasised flydubai’s continued ability to draw in young Emirati talent and their dedication to hiring locals and advancing Emiratization initiatives by assigning them to appropriate positions in various corporate divisions.

At the Dubai Airshow in 2023, flydubai placed a historic order for 30 Boeing 787-9s, its first-ever wide-body aircraft.

Additionally, the airline unveiled plans to establish new maintenance and training facilities, to enhance efficiencies and positively impact its bottom line. The airline, as of July 2024, operates a young fleet of 88 Boeing 737 aircraft, serving a network of more than 125 destinations across 58 countries.

Flydubai has been in the news. After having signed a reciprocal codeshare partnership with Emirates recently, which will commence in October 2024, the Dubai-based carrier signed a reciprocal interline agreement with Condor at the IATA Annual General Meeting in Dubai, held in June 2024.

Condor passengers will benefit from additional connecting flights from Dubai to destinations such as Malaysia, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand and many other locations in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and Southeast Asia. Passengers will be able to travel on a single ticket fare and their baggage will be checked through to their final destination on all connecting flights operated by Condor and flydubai.

During the signing of the reciprocal interline agreement, Condor CEO Peter Gerber said, “By expanding our partnerships, we are providing our customers with even better connections to other destinations around the globe. Flydubai is another important partner for reaching 22 worldwide destinations via the Dubai hub. Our guests will benefit from even more choice and a consistently state-of-the-art product throughout their entire journey. Additionally, Condor flights to and from Berlin will be bookable for flydubai passengers.”

Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, told the media during the occasion, “We are pleased to partner with Condor and to offer more passengers a convenient and reliable travel experience on board our flights. Since 2009, we have remained committed to enhancing connectivity and creating free flows of trade and tourism, and with this new partnership, we look forward to offering Condor’s passengers the opportunity to explore the flydubai network.”

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The DragonFly suite reportedly has subsystems which can perform automatic emergency diversions during the cruise phase, automatic landing, and assisting during taxiing during poor weather conditions.

The development has now given rise to a potentially uncomfortable question: Is AI coming after the jobs of human pilots?

Knowing DragonFly In Detail

During the flight test campaign in January 2023, the implemented technologies successfully managed a simulated case of pilot incapacitation. The demonstrational flight took into account external factors like flight zones, terrain, and weather conditions, the aircraft was able to automatically generate a new flight path and communicate with both air traffic control and the airline’s operations control centre.

“Airbus has also explored taxi assist functions, which were tested in real-time conditions at Toulouse-Blagnac airport. The technology provides the crew with audible obstacle alerts, speed control, and guidance to the runway using a specific airport map. These features could prove vital in low-visibility ground operations, aiding in situational awareness and avoiding the need to use a follow-me vehicle,” explained an Aviacionline article.

As of 2023, there have been 11 recorded flight mishaps due to pilot incapacitation. So the ‘Project Dragonfly’ comes as a relieving development, as it will eliminate a passenger’s worst nightmare, being stuck inside an aircraft, which is not in a controlled flight path anymore, due to the pilot’s incapacitation.

The DragonFly solution will be a cost-effective one for the airport authorities as they won’t be requiring specific ground equipment. The same characteristic will also help the aircraft to land even in “unequipped” or remote airports.

Threat For Human Pilots?

Although Airbus is dubbing its latest project as an aiding mechanism for pilots, it comes at a time when there is debate among aviation industry stakeholders on whether AI will replace human pilots completely in the near future.

Emirates chief Tim Clark recently told CNBC, “You might see a one-pilot aircraft. Could the aircraft be flown on a fully automated basis? Yes it could, technology is right up there now. [But passengers] like to think there are two pilots up there. There will always be somebody on the flight deck in my view.”

Emirates boss, however, also termed the concept of ‘Pilotless planes’ a possible yet ‘long way off’ prospect, while emphasising the skills of the trained pilots to help them to perform a number of responsibilities beyond just flying the aircraft.

According to the United States Federal Aviation Administration, human error is the leading cause of both commercial airline crashes and 60-80% of such mishaps involve some type of human error.

Commercial pilots monitor the aircraft’s onboard instruments, communicate with the Traffic Controllers and Operation Control Centers and last but not least, be the trouble-shooter, if the aircraft develops glitches during the journey.

Even though modern-day jetliners arrive with fly-by-wire control mechanisms and autopilots, these are not glitch-free either, requiring human interventions during extraordinary situations. So the room for error is almost zero for commercial pilots.

Terms like pilot fatigue, workload pressure, cognitive overload, poor interpersonal communications, imperfect information processing, and flawed decision-making still find their places on the investigation report, whenever a flight mishap happens. Despite all these, passengers put their belief in human pilots. And this is where AI can come into play, by becoming the pilots’ decision-making buddy.

Man-Machine Teaming Is Way Ahead

Banking and healthcare Industries have empowered their human professionals further by harnessing the AI’s data mining capability, which in turn has quickened up decision-making processes in those fields.

A similar approach is needed in the aviation industry as well.

Jainita Hogervorst, the Director of Dubai-based Aerviva Aviation Consultancy, told the Aerotime Hub that the aviation community is cautious about entrusting full control to AI due to safety risks and the intricate nature of flying. And yes, she is true. Any electrical device is prone to malfunctioning, be it fly-by-wire or autopilot. In 2021, a Boeing 737-500 in Indonesia faced a fault in its autothrottle system (device which automatically adjusts the power to the jet’s two engines) and crashed, killing all 62 people onboard.

Boeing’s Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System came under fire in 2019 when 346 people died in two crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia involving 737MAX jetliners.

“Automation can prove beneficial by relieving pilots from repetitive or less rewarding tasks, allowing them to focus on critical decision-making processes. However, this shift also transforms the pilot’s role from active operation to one of monitoring, which humans might struggle with over extended periods effectively,” said Hogervorst.

“Human pilots possess an intuitive understanding of their surroundings, enabling them to respond swiftly to unforeseen circumstances. AI systems, while advanced, may not possess the same level of instinctual comprehension,” she added further.

Also, there is no guarantee that AI won’t misbehave or face unforeseen challenges. So instead of over-relying on technology, airlines need to have human hands inside the cockpit too.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) presented its ‘AI Roadmap’ in 2020, which begins with AI/Machine Language applications assisting and augmenting crew in tasks like flight preparation and execution. The second step involves enhanced human-machine collaboration, followed by the last stage where the machine operates autonomously but remains supervised by a human. The final stage envisions full autonomy, but human involvement is maintained and can come in handy in worst-case scenarios.

Final Words

“AI can automate mundane tasks such as answering common passenger queries, flight information assistance, booking changes, and baggage tracking. This allows the cabin crew to focus on their core responsibilities, such as passenger safety, emergency handling, and personalized customer service,” Hogervorst stated and yes, that should be the approach from the industry, reducing the pilots’ stress level to the bare minimum with the technology’s help, rather than completely eliminating the human hands from the cockpit.

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“We need a full complement of pilots to join our team so that we can get through the training phase and prepare for the airline’s launch,” stated Peter Bellew, chief operating officer of Riyadh Air, while adding, “I advise anyone who has experience training on the Boeing 787-9 or the Boeing 777 aircraft to look online at our opportunities.”

The Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom, established the airline in April 2023 after placing a multibillion-dollar order for up to 72 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. This includes 39 confirmed aircraft with 33 wide-body 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft readily available.

It plans to invest up to USD 11 billion in 121 787 Dreamliners, the fifth-largest commercial order in Boeing’s history, to help the nation reach its 2030 target of servicing 330 million passengers and drawing 100 million tourists.

According to Bellew, the hiring process will begin in September 2023, and full onboarding will start in the airline in January 2024.

“Over the next three years, we plan to hire 700 pilots across the airline to accommodate the arrival of 39 aircraft. We’re seeking individuals with experience on the 787 and those with prior wide-body experience,” Bellew continued.

The need for business and leisure travel worldwide has helped the aviation industry recover quickly from the COVID pandemic.

Massive job boom in the Middle East’s aviation sector

Not only Riyadh Air, but the entire Middle-East aviation industry will also see a job boom as the airlines will hire 28,000 pilots, 78,000 cabin crew and 22,000 commercial aircraft maintenance technicians in the next ten years, as per a report from the Canadian aviation training firm CAE’s ‘2023 Aviation Talent Forecast’.

The study also said that airlines around the world would need extensive recruitment until 2032 to fill vacancies, as the industry goes into an expansion mode due to the rising travel demand.

CAE estimated that the global aviation industry would be needing a further 1.3 million professionals over the next decade, amid a projected 45% demand growth for cabin crew globally, as the total number of active cabin crew will likely reach 779,000 by 2032.

In addition to the commercial sector, the business aviation industry will be requiring nearly 1,000 new workers by 2032, of which 450 will be pilots, stated CAE.

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Moreover, during cabin crew strike action, Ryanair issued protective notice to 100 pilots and 200 cabin crew based in Dublin. Rather than engaging with workers and attempting to address the grievances that led to the strikes, the company has instead threatened job cuts. ITF and ETF previously warned Ryanair about obstructing workers’ right to strike. Practices such as surveying workers about their intentions on strike days and inducing colleagues to break strikes could contravene international norms on freedom of association.

This irresponsible and immature response to its workforce suggests that Ryanair has a long way to go before it can be considered a fair employer. Calls for industrial action will continue until the company makes good collective bargaining agreements with unions. ITF and ETF support all Ryanair workers in any lawful industrial action they feel necessary to win a fair deal from the company. If Ryanair continues to ignore the legitimate demands of its workforce then further strikes over the summer are probable.

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