Azul Conecta, a regional airline in Brazil, has signed a letter of intent with hybrid-electric aircraft developer Ampaire to upgrade up to six of its Cessna Grand Caravans to Eco Caravans, the companies announced on January 31.

The announcement comes about two months after Ampaire successfully conducted the first flight test of an Eco Caravan, a hybrid-electric version of the popular Cessna 208 Grand Caravan. Ampaire, which is based in Hawthorne, California, is working with the FAA to certify the Eco Caravan under a supplemental type certificate by 2024.

The nine-passenger Eco Caravan uses Ampaire’s AMP-H570 hybrid-electric powertrain, a retrofit that the company claims can cut the aircraft’s fuel consumption and emissions by up to 70 percent while reducing operating costs by 25 percent or more.

“After evaluating a range of technologies, including fully electric and hydrogen fuel cells, we concluded that Ampaire moves us toward our ESG [environmental, social, and governance] goals much sooner,” said Azul Conecta CEO Flavio Costa. “Azul Conecta has innovation as a mission and sees the upgrade to the Eco Caravan as a major innovation that accelerates our path to sustainability, maintaining a safety standard in our operations, which is our first and non-negotiable value.”

Formerly known as TwoFlex, Azul Conecta is a regional airline based in Jundiaí, São Paulo. It was formed in 2013 by the merger of Two Táxi Aéreo and Flex Aero Táxi Aéreo. In 2020, it was purchased by and became a subsidiary of Azul, which is Brazil’s largest airline by passenger volume, departures, and cities served.

Azul Conecta operates 27 Grand Caravans (three of which are cargo aircraft), making it the largest operator of that model in Brazil. It conducts 80 domestic flights across the country every day and serves 84 destinations.

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