EasyJet confident it will fly electric planes by 2030

(Sharecast News) - EasyJet has moved into the next stage of engine development for its future electric passenger jet, although it has pushed back its original timetable by three years to 2030.The company announced on Monday that it had progressed to the next stage of development and is confident about the new technology, saying that it will allow the company to cut both airplanes' emissions and operating costs.In theory, the new aircraft will also make less noise, EasyJet said in 2017, when it partnered for the project with US start-up Wright Electric.Wright estimates that electric aircraft will reduce the fuel costs of a plane by about 30%, Reuters reported.EasyJet's CEO Johan Lundgren shrugged off the three-year delay in the company's timeline, saying it was more important there was clear path to bringing the new technology to market."We can definitely see a way forward in how we will get this aircraft into the fleet," he said in an interview.The airline is already targeting a 10% cut in emissions per passengers per kilometer by 2022 with its new fuel-efficient Airbus A320neo jets.On the other hand, Wright is now working on an electric engine for a nine-seater plane that will fly in 2019.