Boeing and JetBlue have poured an undisclosed amount of money into the Zunum Aero, the first aeroplane which will run on electric.
Zunum Aero founder and CEO Ashish Kumar said: "I consider us very fortunate to have backers like JetBlue and Boeing. We have been engaged with both companies for about a year, and both are as passionate as we are in this opportunity to reinvent regional air travel."
The planned aircraft would hold between 10 and 50 passengers and has a maximum travel distance of 1000 miles. It would also have a "diesel or turbine range-extending power generator" in case of emergencies.
Jet Blue's President of Technology Ventures, Bonny Simi, said: "At JetBlue Technology Ventures, our goal is to be part of a disruptive force rather than the one being disrupted, and we seek new technologies that look to change the game.
"As a company that is also deeply committed to innovation in sustainable travel, we believe that Zunum and its quiet, environmentally friendly aircraft will light up a vast network of underutilised airports and reinvent regional travel."
The team behind Zunum Aero also says the new aircraft - which the team is hopeful to release in the 2020s - will make short-haul travel quicker, cheaper and produce fewer emissions.
Writing on their website, they added: "Imagine leaving your doorstep in San Jose at 7 AM and making it to a 9:30 AM meeting in Pasadena. With Zunum Aero, simply drive to a nearby airfield and walk to your aircraft with bags in tow, for a trip that will take half the time and at a much lower fare. Or skip the meeting altogether, and be on the slopes in Tahoe by 8:40 AM for $100 round-trip, and back home the same evening ...
"Did you know that short-haul flights produce over 40% of aviation emissions? With our aircraft, we believe these will be largely eliminated within twenty years. Our aircraft are 'hybrid-to-electrics' that sip fuel only when they have to, will use even less over time as batteries upgrade, and will one day go completely without - so that flying will be kind to the Earth."
