Outlook 2026: The airliner projects that promise new technology and lower emissions

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By Bjorn Fehrm

February 5, 2026, © Leeham News: We will survey new entrants that deviate from the classical gas-turbine tube-and-wing airframe concept and offer airliners the promise of lower emissions and, hopefully, lower costs.

We will do this by starting with those closest to certification and delivery, then tapering off to those who currently use PowerPoint.

If we didn’t apply this filter to what we consider real projects, we would describe over 50 entries, with additional ones announced with airline orders every month over the last few years. Few of these have progressed beyond plans, which is why we focus on those that have.

Overall, it’s amazing that 11 years after the Airbus E-fan battery-electric aircraft flew at the Farnborough Air Show in 2014, we still do not have a single certified alternative-propulsion passenger aircraft. We have one light-sport two-seat trainer, the Pipistrel Electro Velis, but nothing else.

Figure 1. The Airbus E-Fan at the Paris Air Show in 2015. Source: Wikipedia.