Private flights will be battery-powered under electric plane partnership

Electric aircraft startup Wright Electric aims to carry passengers on battery-powered flights within the next 20 years. Now, business travelers in the Middle East may soon be able to partake in the company's aggressive flight plans.

Flight support company Jetex recently announced a new partnership with Los Angeles-based Wright Electric. The companies have committed to flying electric private planes on short 300-mile or shorter trips from cities like Dubai, Muscat, Malaga, and Casablanca — all on a single charge.

The only catch: The first such flight may be as far as 10 years away.

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The partnership announced Monday comes six months after Wright announced it was teaming up with budget airline EasyJet to fly all-electric passenger planes within the next decade.

Wright Electric CEO Jeff Engler said in a phone call Monday that many Jetex flights are short distances and frequent, which is perfect for its electric planes' future abilities.

"Electric motors are very good at short bursts of power," Engler said.

The company will start building charging infrastructure in Dubai and eventually could set up in 30 locations where Jetex operates.

The electric plane manufacturer is also looking into a smaller nine-seater plane which could come to market quicker than full 150-seat passenger planes. These smaller planes would serve private travelers and the ski-diving industry to get divers to altitude quicker.

For anyone booking business travel between Middle Eastern cities give it a solid decade or two before that trip is fully electric.