As industries begin to shift away from fossil fuels, Ampaire is banking on its line of hybrid-electric airplanes to revolutionize air travel. The company recently announced its historic first flight of an existing airline route in Hawaii.
Kevin Noertker, Ampaire CEO, said not only would the environment reap the biggest benefits from a reduction of emissions, but the airline industry could also soar to new heights.
"For the airlines, the biggest impact is reduced cost of operation. Airlines care about the total cost of ownership and operation for their planes. By switching to a hybrid plane, you could reduce that fuel burn by up to 50 percent," Noertker told Cheddar.
The CEO also noted that a fully electric plane would reduce emissions by more than 90 percent.
After launching in 2016 and constructing an aircraft for the last two years, paid flights for the company are on the horizon. "We're looking at about a three-year timeline before we get certification to deploy these planes in that commercial operation," Noertker said.
While the company gears up for commercial flights, it has already been conducting demonstrations under the FAA's experimental market survey, which allows passengers and potential Ampaire customers to fly.
Last month, the company became the first to ever demonstrate a hybrid-electric flight in Maui, which went from Kahului to Hana in about 20 minutes. Like other industries, Ampaire's ability to continue developing and moving forward with test flights, particularly in Hawaii, was impacted by pandemic-related restrictions.
The hybrid-electric planes, according to Noertker, while capable of long-distance flights, are optimal for relatively short-distances. Over the next five to 10 years, however, there are plans to produce an aircraft that can hold up to 20 passengers and will fly "routes between 50 and 500 miles."
"The reality is most routes that airlines like to fly are about 100 miles," Noertker said.
Melissa Gonzalez, CEO and Founder of The Lionesque Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where she explains why she feels mixed about the Walmart's new initiative and what will make mass adoption of this offering difficult.
Exercise equipment maker Peloton is attempting to run away from a recent bout of controversy. CEO John Foley published an open letter to employees on Thursday after reports that said Peloton was pausing production of its Bike and Tread products, delaying the opening of a new U.S. factory, and considering job cuts. In the letter, Foley wrote that the information in the reports was 'incomplete,' 'out of context,' and not reflective of Peloton's strategy. Peloton's stock responded on Friday, with shares bouncing back after falling nearly 24% in the regular session on Thursday. CFRA Research's Director of Research Ken Leon joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Home essentials maker Outlines announced its launch at the beginning of 2022, along with $1 million in pre-seed funding led by Social Impact Capital. Outlines says it is re-imagining how we keep our homes clean while also reducing plastic waste. The company's debut product, the Shower Liner System, is made of long-lasting materials, including easy-to-recycle plastic. Outlines co-founder and CEO Luke Young and co-founder and COO Megan Ceryanec joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Despite Netflix's successful fourth-quarter earnings report, investors are hitting the 'pause' button after the company admitted that competition from other streaming platforms could eat into growth. Netflix is also lowering expectations for expected subscriber growth for the first quarter of this year, anticipating it will add just 2.5 million, far below the 3.98 million subscribers it added during the same quarter one year ago. What could happen to the streaming giant as the streaming wars keep heating up? Greg Martin, Co-Founder of Rainmaker Securities, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss whether Netflix could lose its top spot, how it's trying to compete with other platforms, the streaming industry landscape, and more.
eToro, the social trading platform that offers crypto, forex, and equities, recently announced that it's giving U.S. users the option to include stocks and ETFs as part of their investment portfolios. Lule Demmissie, CEO of eToro U.S., joined Cheddar to talk about the company’s expanded offerings. "We felt, although crypto is a fantastic asset class, that individuals benefit from having a broader access to different kinds of investments, and equities is definitely one of them," Demmissie noted.
Coming off of CES, Blink Charging announced a partnership with legacy automaker General Motors to provide charging stations for its newest electric cars. The company specializes in stations they own and operate that also accommodate residential and commercial locations. Michael D. Farkas, founder and CEO, noted that they "don’t discriminate” when it comes to locating their chargers while also taking the philosophy of seeing their hardware more like hot water heaters rather than smartphones constantly in need of upgrading. "We believe it's one of the reasons why we were selected by GM," Farkas said. "These dealerships have to invest in these locations and make sure that this hardware is workable for a very, very long period of time."
Simeon Siegel, managing director and senior analyst at BMO Capital Markets joins Cheddar News to discuss CNBC's report that Peloton plans to halt production, despite the company's CEO denying those claims.
Mona Zhang, states cannabis policy reporter at POLITICO Pro joins Cheddar News to discuss major factors that caused Canada's retail marijuana sales to drop last year.
Jackie Rotman, founder and CEO of the Center for Intimacy Justice joins Cheddar News to talk about why Facebook is banning ads by companies targeting women's sexual health but not ads catered to men.
TikTok recently announced that it is testing a paid subscription model. The news comes days after Instagram publicized a similar service. TikTok has made $2.3 billion from in-app purchases, but mostly through tips, in 2021, showing that its users may be open to spending money on the platform.
