Electric flights from London to Paris could be a reality in 10 years' time

EasyJet has already expressed interest in the technology
Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Samantha J. Gross23 March 2017

In the next decade, flights from London to Paris might be fast, fuelless and less expensive.

Wright Electric, a new start-up company proposing the idea, said that the electric plane - cheekily dubbed the “Wright One” - would be able to accommodate 150 guests on trips shorter than 300 miles.

Without a need for jet fuel, the price of travel would be significantly lower, the company told the BBC.

However before the plane becomes a reality, battery technology will need to improve greatly.

According to reports, the tech is not yet strong enough to power the plane for a long trip.

When perfected, the built-in battery power would both diminish noise pollution produced by commercial jets as well as shorten the time planes spend waiting on the tarmac to be refuelled.

"Depending on how it's designed, you can have an electric plane that's substantially less loud than a fuel plane", Jeff Engler, Wright Electric's co-founder, told the BBC. "The way we've designed our plane is to have modular battery packs for quick swap using the same cargo container that's in a regular airplane"..

Wright Electric is not the only company looking to pursue electric flight.

Commercial giant AirBus already has plans to engineer a 90-passenger electric jet. Boom, a company backed by Sir Richard Branson, is also developing an electric jet to fly from London to New York in a supersonic three-and-a-half hours.

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Wright’s version of the electric plane would most likely cost less, Engler said.

"We want it to be as fast as possible, so airlines can keep their planes in the air as long as possible and cover their costs."

If the electric plane makes flying cheaper and more accessible, the invention is likely to gain wide support. Flight provider EasyJet has already expressed interest in the idea.

"EasyJet [...] is actively providing an airline operator's perspective on the development of this exciting technology," the airline told the BBC.

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