Horizon by Natilus: status and timeline

Horizon

Build a single-aisle-class airliner that burns about 30% less fuel by making the whole body a wing, while still fitting existing airport gates and engines.

ResearchStage 1 of 5

In design, now a two-deck layout; SpiceJet holds a conditional order for 100

Updated 17 Dec 2025Checked 11 Oct0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · Type certification and first deliveries (early 2030s)

Horizon revealed23 Oct 2024Complete.
SpiceJet conditional order for 10017 Dec 2025Complete.
Redesigned as two-deck Horizon EVOFeb 2026Complete.
Type certification and first deliveries (early 2030s)Not yet reached.

Most important updates

Current obstacles

Passenger evacuationA wide cabin puts seats far from side doors, and certification requires everyone out in 90 seconds.
Pressurising a flat bodyA tube resists cabin pressure naturally; a flat, wide body needs extra structure, which eats into the weight savings.

Physics limits

Flat shapes hate pressurePressure loads a cylinder evenly in tension but bends flat panels, so a blended body needs heavier walls than a tube of the same volume.
Banking moves the passengersSeats far from the centreline rise and fall more when the plane rolls, which limits how wide a comfortable cabin can be.

How it works

3 parts

Body lift

Passengers sit inside the wing

The wide centre body is shaped as an aerofoil, so it carries part of the weight instead of being dead drag.

Two decks

Dual-deck cabin

The 2026 EVO redesign stacks two decks inside the thick centre body to fit 200+ seats in a narrowbody-sized footprint.

Engines

Off-the-shelf turbofans

Uses engines already flying on today's narrowbodies rather than waiting for a new engine.

Spec sheet

Spec	Horizon
Passengers	200+^R (reported)
Range	3,500 nmi^R (reported)
Payload	25 t^R (reported)
Fuel burn vs today (claim)	-30%^R (reported)
Interior volume vs tube (claim)	+40%^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Peer comparison

Next-gen airliners peers

Spec	Horizon	Natilus Kona
Range	3,500 nmi^R (reported)	900 nmi^R (reported)
Payload	25 t^R (reported)	3.8 t^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Update log

2 updates

Wed 17 Dec 2025

Major: SpiceJet signs conditional deal for 100 Natilus Horizon blended-wing airlinersPressCommercial

Wed 23 Oct 2024

Major: Natilus unveils Horizon, a 200-seat blended-wing airliner for the early 2030sPressHardware

About Natilus

The team behind Horizon

Natilus

Blended-wing cargo plane and airliner

Natilus is a San Diego startup founded in 2016 that designs blended-wing-body aircraft, where the fuselage itself is shaped like a wing and adds lift. It is building Kona, a regional cargo plane, and designing Horizon, a 200-plus-seat airliner.

Raised a $28M Series A led by Draper Associates in February 2026 to finish the first full-scale Kona.
Claims a 570+ aircraft reservation book worth $24B, mostly Kona; SpiceJet's 100 Horizons depend on certification.
Full-scale Kona first flight has slipped from 2024 to within 24 months of February 2026.

natilus.co (opens natilus.co)Company profile →

Founded: 201610 yrs
Headquarters: United States
Status: Private
Valuation: private
Raised: $28M1 round
Last round: Series A · $28M10 Feb 2026
Works in: AviationNext-gen airliners
Coverage: 2 programs · 4 updateslatest 10 Feb 2026checked 11 Oct
Lead investors: Draper Associates
Customers: SpiceJetAmeriflightNolinor Aviation
Investors: Flexport
People: Aleksey MatyushevCo-founder and CEOAnatoly StarikovCo-founder

Spec

Horizon

Passengers

200+^R (reported)

Range

3,500 nmi^R (reported)

Payload

25 t^R (reported)

Fuel burn vs today (claim)

-30%^R (reported)

Interior volume vs tube (claim)

+40%^R (reported)

Spec

Horizon

Natilus Kona

Range

3,500 nmi^R (reported)

900 nmi^R (reported)

Payload

25 t^R (reported)

3.8 t^R (reported)