Air Cahana plans to launch operations with a pair of PC-12s on charter flights in the southwestern United States before it transitions to sustainably-powered ATR - Avions de Transport Régional turboprops, founder and Chief Executive Tony Thompson told FlightGlobal.

The start-up plans to eventually build a scheduled passenger network from secondary regional airports, bypassing main hubs. Its business case is premised on the lower operating costs of hydrogen-powered aircraft and the convenience of smaller airports.

Air Cahana is close to signing the leases for the pair of PC-12s, with deliveries scheduled by the end of 2023. In line with its focus on energy transformation and minimising emissions, Air Cahana plans to power the single-engine turboprops with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), although Thompson acknowledged existing supply issues. The start-up will start using SAF "as soon as [it] gets access to it". Air Cahana conceded that given the higher price of SAF, it would have to pass these prices onto customers, but is optimistic that with high-level service, use of more convenient airports, green credentials, and limited capacity, it would find enough high-yielding customers to make its business viable.

The first ATRs are expected around a year after the launch of flight operations.

The start-up plans to initially use conventional engines with a "target of 30% SAF usage". As the supply of SAF increases, Air Cahana will increase their share to 100% before transitioning to hydrogen propulsion. The company signed an LOI with UK's ZeroAvia to acquire 250 hydrogen conversion kits being developed by the manufacturer.

"[The ATR] is almost certainly going to be the only aircraft in the world that's certified for 100% sustainable aviation fuel. The second reason we are going to transition to that aircraft is because that's the aircraft ZeroAvia is going to certify their hydrogen powerplants on," Thompson said.

ZeroAvia aims to certify the Z2000 hydrogen conversion kit for 40-80-seat turboprops by 2027. The Anglo-American start-up is backed by, among others, Alaska Air Group and American Airlines Group. It is currently testing its engines on an ex-Horizon Air DHC-8-Q400 handed over by Alaska Air Group.

Air Cahana wants to operate 21 aircraft by the end of the 2020s, with seven each based out of the Los Angeles metro area, the San Francisco Bay area, and the Denver metro area. "That gives us coverage all over the southwestern part of the United States. That's a pretty aggressive plan, but I think we can do it," Thompson said.

Given the uncertainty about their viability and timeline for commercial deployment, the start-up dropped its initial plans to focus on battery-powered electric aircraft. Thompson stressed that hydrogen-powered engines were effectively also electric powerplants with zero emissions.