On April 11, 2024, Californian startup Natilus and UK-based lessor MONTE Aircraft Leasing announced that they have entered into a partnership to provide financing options to potential customers of the currently under-development Kona aircraft.
The Kona is a blended-wing-body cargo aircraft. Thanks to its clean-sheet design, once it becomes operational it will provide owners with double the payload capacity of traditional aircraft of a comparable size.
Its unusual shape is not the only innovative aspect of the Kona, however. Natilus is developing this aircraft with the idea that it will become possible to operate remotely at a future date, and that it will also be able to accommodate novel sustainable propulsion technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells.
Natilus flight-tested a small-scale prototype of the Kona in April 2023, as the first step towards the launch of a whole family of blended-wing-body cargo aircraft that will range from the smallest Kona, with a payload of 3.8 tons, to the larger Alisio (60 tons) and Nordes (100 tons).
In turn, MONTE Aircraft leasing is an active player in the regional aircraft leasing market industry. In recent years it has taken a prominent role in the advanced air mobility space.