Heart Aerospace Just Unveiled a New Electric Airliner With 36 Seats

One California-based plane maker just showed it has a big heart—literally.

Heart Aerospace today unveiled a 36-seat hybrid-electric regional airliner designed to fly passengers to and from community airports with fewer emissions.

The new ES-36 builds upon the ES-30 model that Heart debuted in 2022 and the X1 demonstrator it flew earlier this year, but offers six more seats and 1,415 pounds of payload capacity. Even with that increase, the aircraft retains the same maximum takeoff weight and battery capacity as the previous design.

“The ES-36 design is a direct result of what Heart learned designing, building, testing, and flying our X1 demonstrator aircraft,” Ben Stabler, chief technology officer at Heart, said in a statement. “Those learnings have helped us make the production aircraft more capable in the air and more productive for operators.”

The newcomer features an aerodynamically optimized airframe that allows more space for passengers and payload, thereby increasing revenue potential. It also has two nacelles and propellers rather than four like its predecessor. That reduction in propulsion components lowers maintenance costs. Therefore, it is not only cheaper to run but can make more money. Hence why it is Heart’s production aircraft.

The two hybrid powertrains each use a 1.65 MW electric motor to drive a propeller, with the onboard batteries providing an all-electric range of 125 miles. That means the ES-36 can execute short-haul routes without burning any fuel. The powertrains are also equipped with a turbogenerator, which is powered by a gas turbine that can generate electricity in flight to supplement the batteries and power the motor. That gives the aircraft a hybrid range of 745 miles, allowing it to carry out longer missions.

The ES-36 already has a few fans, too. JSX, the public charter operator, has agreed to buy 50 aircraft, with rights to purchase 50 more.

“The hybrid-electric ES-36 will enable more nonstop routes from more convenient airports while further elevating the award-winning, no-middle-seat onboard experience that JSX Customers love,” adds JSX CEO Alex Wilcox.

The first pre-production ES-36 aircraft is currently under construction at Heart’s pilot manufacturing plant in Los Angeles, with first flight expected in the second half of 2028 and entry into service in 2031.