UPS Flight Forward Adds Innovative New Aircraft, Enhancing Capabilities and Network Sustainability
07 Avril 2021 - 2:00PM
- Beta
Technologies’ electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL)
aircraft to land on-property at UPS facilities in small and
mid-size markets.
- Enhances UPS
network flexibility, benefits healthcare providers and small and
medium-sized businesses.
- Flexible,
sustainable solution to reduce air network emissions; recharging
station can also be used with electric-powered ground
vehicles.
UPS (NYSE:UPS), together with its UPS Flight Forward subsidiary,
plans to purchase electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL)
aircraft from Beta Technologies (BETA) to augment its air service
for select small and mid-size markets. These aircraft will take off
and land on-property at UPS facilities in a whisper-quiet fashion,
reducing time-in-transit, vehicle emissions, and operating
cost.
The BETA aircraft’s 1,400-pound cargo capacity is ideally suited
to more quickly and sustainably transport time-sensitive deliveries
that would otherwise fly on small fixed-wing aircraft. UPS’s use of
the aircraft will benefit healthcare providers, thousands of small
and medium-sized businesses, and other companies in smaller
communities. With a 250-mile range and cruising speed of up to 170
miles per hour, UPS will be able to plan a series of short routes,
or one long route, on a single charge to meet customers’ needs.
“This is all about innovation with a focus on returns for our
business, our customers, and the environment,” said UPS Chief
Information and Engineering Officer Juan Perez. “These new
aircraft will create operational efficiencies in our business, open
possibilities for new services, and serve as a foundation for
future solutions to reduce the emissions profile of our air and
ground operation.”
The aviation industry is focusing on small aircraft, which UPS
uses to serve many small and medium-sized communities, to develop
groundbreaking, sustainable electric-powered aircraft. BETA’s
aircraft has four fixed vertical lift propellers and one pusher
propeller for forward flight. It can charge in an hour or less, and
produces zero operational emissions.
“We’re combining simple, elegant design and advanced technology
to create a reliable aircraft with zero operational emissions that
will revolutionize how cargo moves,” said BETA founder and CEO Kyle
Clark. “By utilizing vertical takeoffs and landings, we can turn
relatively small spaces at existing UPS facilities into a micro air
feeder network without the noise or operating emissions of
traditional aircraft.”
UPS has also reserved BETA's recharging station for a seamless
and fully integrated electric aviation system. The BETA
charging station helps ensure safe and rapid charging of the
aircraft in under one hour, and facilitates a quick turn for the
loading and unloading of cargo. The charging station also offers
the aircraft’s batteries a second life cycle.
After the batteries’ first life cycle in the aircraft concludes,
they can be fitted to the charging stations to recharge the
aircraft’s onboard batteries as well as UPS’s fleet of electric
ground vehicles. UPS currently operates more than 12,000
alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles, and announced a
commitment to purchase up to 10,000 Arrival electric vehicles.
BETA’s aircraft are designed to someday operate autonomously as
technologies and regulations are established. UPS Flight Forward
received the first U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Part
135 Standard air carrier certification to operate a drone airline,
and is operating daily revenue-generating flights with drones. The
FAA certification also enables UPS Flight Forward to fly payloads
of up to 7,500 lbs. either with an operator or autonomously.
Last month, BETA advanced to the next phase of flight testing,
completing an interstate flight from its Plattsburgh, NY test
facility to its Burlington, Vt. headquarters. In accordance with
FAA protocols for experimental aircraft to fly beyond its home
airport, BETA had to complete rigorous testing to ensure reliable
and predictable behavior of the aircraft. In the same week, the
company set a new personal-best in range while also reaching 8,000
feet in altitude.
The first ten BETA aircraft are scheduled to begin arriving in
2024, with an option to purchase up to 150 of the aircraft.
Editor’s note: Multimedia assets are available on UPS Brand
Central.
About UPS
UPS (NYSE: UPS) is one of the world’s largest package delivery
companies with 2020 revenue of $84.6 billion, and provides a broad
range of integrated logistics solutions for customers in more than
220 countries and territories. The company’s more than 540,000
employees embrace a strategy that is simply stated and powerfully
executed: Customer First. People Led. Innovation Driven. UPS is
committed to being a steward of the environment and positively
contributing to the communities we serve around the world. UPS also
takes a strong and unwavering stance in support of diversity,
equity and inclusion. The company can be found on the Internet at
www.ups.com, with more information at www.stories.ups.com and
www.investors.ups.com.
Contact: UPS Media Relations
404-828-7123
pr@ups.com
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