Manufacturing

US maker of ‘flying ferries’ builds on UAE backing

March 18, 2025, 1:40 PM

Regent co-founders Billy Thalheimer and Mike Klinker. The company expects orders from the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia

Regent plans Abu Dhabi factory
Edge Group invests $250m
Egypt and UAE orders expected

A US developer of electric passenger sea planes backed by UAE defence company Edge Group expects to secure more orders for its prototype from the UAE and Egypt before the end of May.

Rhode Island-based Regent has developed an all-electric sea plane prototype, which the company calls a seaglider, capable of carrying 12 people at speeds of up to 180 miles per hour.

The seaglider leaves from a dock and gathers speed in open water raised up on a fin or hydrofoil, before flying at about 10 metres above the water’s surface. It can travel 180 miles on a single charge, the company says.

Concept art of the Regent seaglider in flight

The seaglider manufacturer clinched an initial $250 million agreement last month with Edge Group unit Strategic Development Fund (SDF) to develop the prototype. Saudi giga-project developer Neom is also an investor.

Regent expects to secure an order from an Egyptian Red Sea operator and is in discussions with potential buyers in Saudi Arabia, according to Shadi El Abdallah, the company’s Dubai-based regional director for business development. He did not give further details.

“We anticipate a lot of seagliders operating on that Red Sea coastline in the future,” El Abdallah says.

Regent aims to bring the seaglider prototype to market by the end of next year.
In its agreement with SDF, Regent would build a plant in Abu Dhabi based on the template of the manufacturer’s factory in Rhode Island, which broke ground in January.

Abu Dhabi is spending billions on high-tech ventures to secure its future at the forefront of funding and co-developing innovation.

The emirate’s Group 42 Holding Ltd for instance is focused on artificial intelligence development across industries ranging from government, healthcare and finance to oil and gas, aviation and hospitality.