An artistic representation of a new UPS airplane.
Source: UPS
United Parcel Service literally takes parcel delivery to new heights with the purchase of 10 electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft from Beta Technologies.
In an announcement Wednesday, Atlanta-based UPS said it will test the eVTOLs for use in its Express Air delivery network, targeting small and medium markets. The company will operate the eVTOLs under its Flight Forward division, which is also exploring drone delivery.
The new type of aircraft, which looks like a cross between an airplane and a helicopter, “unlocks new business models that don’t exist today,” Bala Ganesh, vice president of the UPS Advanced Technology Group, told CNBC. “For example, you can see a future where he transports, say, £ 1,000, £ 1,500 to rural hospitals” and lands on a helipad instead of an airport.
Vermont-based Beta Technologies will design and build the eVTOLs, which are expected to be delivered to UPS in 2024, pending certification by the Federal Aviation Administration. Beta also supplies landing pads and rechargeable batteries. UPS has an option to purchase up to 150 additional eVTOLs. The price of the transaction has not been disclosed. The eVTOLs can fly up to 250 miles on a single charge at a speed of 170 mph.
“We’ve also thought about some urgent moments, like bypassing New York traffic, and then moving it straight to our 43rd Street building so we can get around the congestion,” Ganesh said. “It won’t be suitable for all plans, but for certain use cases: willingness to pay, and urgency, we might consider going into those areas.”
The eVTOLs would be used in the same way as small fixed-wing aircraft with a capacity of 500 to 3,000 pounds. UPS said it initially planned to use them in smaller markets and create a series of short routes or one long route to meet customer needs. According to Ganesh, the eVTOLs have an operational advantage over small aircraft because they are designed for sea containers, which in many cases allows parcels to be shipped faster.
“The smaller planes are usually not containerized. They don’t have any container, so it loads a package on this plane, then it lands, and then it has to be loaded into a truck or another vehicle and then driven to another vehicle. location, resorted again, reloaded into the parcel delivery vehicle, ”Ganesh said.
Beta Technologies founder Kyle Clark said his team has worked with UPS to help transform how the company handles parcel movement.
“We combine simple, elegant design and advanced technology to create a reliable aircraft with zero operational emissions that will revolutionize the way cargo moves,” Clark said in a statement. “Using vertical take-offs and landings, we can transform relatively small spaces at existing UPS facilities into a micro-air supply network without the noise or operating emissions of traditional aircraft.”
Sustainability has become increasingly important since Carol Tome became CEO of UPS last June. In its 2020 annual report, UPS said its goal is to reduce the greenhouse gases from its ground operations by 12% and to get 25% of its electrical needs from renewable sources by 2025.
In January 2020, UPS announced a commitment to purchase up to 10,000 electric vehicles from Arrival Group, headquartered in London and Charlotte, North Carolina. The eVTOL batteries will also be compatible with those vehicles. Even when the first life cycle of the batteries on the plane comes to an end, they can still be used in the EVs.
“It just makes for simpler business models, making things easier to implement and manage as we move forward,” said Ganesh, “by creating newer ways of handling that give us greater flexibility and optimally reduce our costs.”