French operator KinectAir is making VoltAero's Cassio hybrid-electric aircraft available for US fractional ownership, driven by artificial intelligence and utilising an advanced smartphone application.

KinectAir's Pioneer programme opens opportunities for fractional owners to reserve share positions or whole aircraft in four-seat Cassio 330s, the first version of VoltAero's hybrid-electric aircraft family to enter production. The Cassio 330 will be strategically positioned at US airports based on user demand.

The Pioneer programme for Cassio is to be officially launched at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in Wisconsin, where VoltAero will be an exhibitor. Expressions of interest for fractional or whole ownership reservations can be made via KinectAir's website and during the show.

“The Jetsons future of rooftop-to-rooftop travel we see in very promising projects like Joby and Beta is just a long way out,” states KinectAir CEO Jonathan Evans. “The Cassio brings an efficient and elegant clean-sheet design for an aircraft that can take off and land on the smaller, local airfields we are already operating from. And we expect to bring it to the fleet as early as 2024. This marriage of hybrid electric propulsion in conventional take off and landing aircraft (eCTOL) is the emerging leader for greening regional air travel. We put these aircraft on a network, and we put the power to summon them in your hands, and that's game changing.”

VoltAero CEO Jean Botti adds: “As a pioneer in electric aircraft, it is highly appropriate that VoltAero is teaming with KinectAir on the Pioneer fractional ownership programme. We look forward to seeing a growing fleet of Cassio aircraft in the US market, serving customers who benefit from KinectAir's personal air mobility concept, combined with Cassio's 800-mile range and the ability to operate from close-in airports.”

VoltAero is advancing the Cassio family's design phase, building on the validation of its hybrid-electric powertrain through flight trials with the company's Cassio 1 demonstrator aircraft. Production will begin with the four-seat Cassio 330, featuring a combined hybrid-electric power of 330 kilowatts. Initial Cassio 330 deliveries are targeted for the fourth quarter of 2023, to be followed by the Cassio 480 and Cassio 600, utilising hybrid-electric propulsion rated at 480 and 600 kilowatts, respectively.

Cassio aircraft will be integrated in KinectAir's short/medium-haul infrastructure, with the regional air mobility company applying artificial intelligence to balance passenger demand and air transport availability. KinectAir's artificial intelligence engine and smartphone app gives passengers control over their choices, both economically and environmentally.