Auric Air Services, a safari airline connecting destinations across East Africa, has entered into a memorandum of understanding with American electric aviation company Surf Air Mobility, to upgrade up to 12 of Auric Air’s Cessna Grand Caravans with Surf Air’s proprietary electrified powertrain technology once certified.

Surf Air now has approximately 13% of the Cessna Caravan market in Africa under an agreement to upgrade to its electrified powertrains, once certified.

Surf Air is developing Supplemental Type Certifications for both hybrid and fully electric variants of the Cessna Grand Caravan. With target reductions of up to 50% in direct operating costs and 100% in carbon emissions for the fully electric powertrain, Surf Air believes the impact on other air operators around the world will be profound as the cost and environmental impact of flying is significantly reduced.

“It’s exciting to have Auric Air share our mission of reducing emissions through electrified aircraft. Auric Air’s commitment secures their preferred delivery positions to upgrade their aircraft to our electrified powertrains once the technology is certified,” said Stan Little, CEO of Surf Air Mobility.

This follows the news that Safarilink, an airline connecting domestic scheduled flights to destinations within Kenya and Tanzania, and Yellow Wings Air Services, a Kenyan air operator that serves over 500 airfields throughout the East African region, are also set to upgrade their Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft with Surf Air Mobility’s proprietary electrified powertrain technology, once certified.