Aviation Report

EasyJet Plc is working with a U.S. engineering startup to develop a fully electric commercial plane within a decade, the low-cost British airline said Wednesday. Founded last year by a team of engineers and battery chemists, U.S.-based Wright Electric is setting its sights on designing an aircraft that can fly 335 miles. That would cover 20 percent of the passengers EasyJet flies today, the airline said in a statement. Since demonstrating that the technology works in a two-seater plane, Wright has worked with EasyJet this year to scale up to commercial proportions. Battery-powered planes offer a way to reduce fuel costs, typically among the biggest expense for airlines and proportionally more so for short-distance carriers like EasyJet. Being first to market with an electric aircraft potentially gives the Luton, England-based carrier a leg up against rivals such as Ireland’s Ryanair Holdings Plc in an ultracompetitive market. EasyJet’s average flight time is under two hours, s