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Electric planes could make travel cheaper

Backed by JetBlue and Boeing, Zunum Aero plans to make electric hybrid jets that could cut the price of your ticket.

Jessica Dolcourt Senior Director, Commerce & Content Operations
Jessica Dolcourt is a passionate content strategist and veteran leader of CNET coverage. As Senior Director of Commerce & Content Operations, she leads a number of teams, including Commerce, How-To and Performance Optimization. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on iPhone and Samsung. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds. Jessica began leading CNET's How-To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones and home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick (UK).
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Zunum Aero wants to make short-haul flights cheap and keep emissions low.

 Zunum Aero

What if instead of paying $200 or more for a round trip ticket from San Francisco to Los Angeles -- or New York to DC, or a Chicago suburb to a Cincinnati suburb -- you paid closer to $100?

Sky's the limit if Zunum Aero, a startup outside of Seattle, succeeds in making electric hybrid regional jets that cut down the price of your ticket. It also hopes to slash emissions on short-haul flights, which the company says accounts for over 40 percent of all aviation emissions.

Backed by JetBlue and Boeing , Zunum intends to focus on serving smaller airports and airfields, many of which are costlier than flying into major hubs -- hubs that take people living outside a metro area longer to travel to.

Zunum Aero's planes would eventually carry up to 50 people per craft and are expected to launch in the early 2020s.