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June 18 (UPI) -- Israeli start-up Eviation showed off its all-electric airliner Tuesday at the Paris Air Show, and said a U.S. carrier has already made an order. Company CEO Omer Bar-Yohay said the plane, called Alice, is the first of its kind in the world.
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"The first all-electric commuter aircraft in the world, and it's out here ready and waiting," he told reporters.
Eviation displayed a prototype of the nine-seat plane at Paris' Le Bourget Airport. It's designed to fly as fast as 650 mph and has a cruise speed of 276 mph. The goal, Eviation said, is not to replace long-haul commercial air travel, but capture a growing market of short-distance flyers.
The plane has a list price of about $4 million each, which is far cheaper than conventional jet-powered airliners, and roughly 900 kilowatts of power split by three MagniX engines.
MagniX CEO Roei Ganzarski told CNBC it was "exciting to see a dream come true."
The company said Cape Air, one of the largest independent U.S. regional carriers, has already placed an order. After test flights this year, the plane is expected to receive certification by 2021 and deliver by 2022.
