FutureFlight
Hybrid Air Vehicles Makes the Case for Its Airship to Replace Airliners
With a spacious cabin seating up to 100 passengers and low carbon emissions, the hybrid-electric Airlander 10 airship is being offered for roles including luxury travel and scheduled regional airline routes.
Hybrid Air Vehicles Airlander 10 cabin
Hybrid Air Vehicles has released various cabin interior concepts to demonstrate the potential for its Airlander 10 airship to offer a superior passenger experience to most airliners. (Image: Hybrid Air Vehicles)

Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) says its hybrid-electric Airlander 10 airship is on track to be ready to carry up to 100 passengers on regional airline services beginning in 2025. Newly released cabin concepts show possible configurations ranging from a spacious 10-seat layout for luxury tours or on-demand urban air mobility services to higher-density versions for scheduled city-to-city operations.

The UK-based company says the aircraft will be able to support airline routes of up to around 425 km (265 miles). With a top speed of around 75 kts (86 mph), the Airlander 10 will be significantly slower than conventional aircraft. However, HAV believes it can be competitive by offering passengers the chance to completely bypass airports to fly directly from one downtown location to another, taking off from seafronts, docks, or any flat surface on land.