Beta Technologies flew its Alia CX300 CTOL (conventional takeoff and landing) aircraft at the 2026 Farnborough International Airshow. The company is offering the aircraft in both cargo and passenger-carrying variants, and is working to achieve FAA type certification later this year. The company is also developing the Alia 250 eVTOL model, and showed a militarized uncrewed variant of that aircraft during the show, called the MV250.

The economics, Beta executives argue, are the point. Comparing the CX300 to a Cessna 208, the company put the electric airplane’s operating cost at roughly $450 per hour against $800 to $850 for the turbine-powered Caravan, with the eVTOL variant offering savings of about 75% over a comparable helicopter.

Customers appear to be buying the argument. Beta has reported an order backlog of approximately $3.9 billion across roughly 991 aircraft. The company, which went public in November 2025, reported first-quarter revenue of $10.1 million in May.