British business accelerator AMG Ventures, led by industry veteran Peter Davies, has taken a minority share in Scottish electric airline startup Ecojet Airlines (Edinburgh), being launched by British green energy tycoon Dale Vince.
According to Companies House records filed on August 26, AMG Ventures holds the smallest stake of 2,000 ordinary shares in the nascent green airline, equivalent to around 6%. Davies is a director of Ecojet Airlines and the founder and CEO of airline consultancy Airline Management Group (AMG), which runs AMG Ventures. As the current chairman of US-based Airlink, an aviation industry disaster relief coordination body, Davies previously served as CEO of Air Malta, Air Southwest in the UK, Caribbean Airlines in Trinidad & Tobago, and SN Brussels Airlines in Belgium. He also launched Oman’s first low-cost carrier SalamAir and helped restructure South African Airways.
British green energy entrepreneur Dale Vince holds 8,334 ordinary shares in Ecojet. Vince, the founder of British energy firm Ecotricity, also sits on the boards of a slew of green energy companies in the United Kingdom. The third shareholder is former flybe. pilot Brent Smith, who holds 23,000 ordinary shares, and is also a director at Edinburgh-based aviation consultancy Altsel Aviation.
In a statement, AMG announced its support for developing Ecojet, a proposed zero-emission airline launched by Vince on July 17. Flights across the UK will commence in early 2024, starting with routes to and from Edinburgh and expanding to mainland Europe shortly after, with long-haul flights planned for the future.
In the short term, to secure routes and a license from the UK Civil Aviation Authority, Ecojet will initially fly using conventionally fuelled planes. The startup is eyeing two different sizes of turboprops (a 19-seater and a 70-seater). These aircraft will be retrofitted with hydrogen-electric power trains as soon they become approved for service by the CAA. The first retrofits are slated for 2025, one year after the commencement of flights.
Once converted, the aircraft will operate with the same power output as before but with a 100% reduction in CO2 and other emissions. Repurposing old planes rather than building new models from scratch is to save 90,000 tonnes of carbon per year.
According to Companies House records, Ecojet Airlines, initially known as Fresh Airlines Limited, was established on August 27, 2021. The company changed its name on May 2, 2023, coinciding with Vince's appointment as a director.
