It’s a boat… it’s a plane… it’s a seaglider! Fully electric, powered by eight propellers, hovering 30 feet above the ocean, and charging forward at 180 miles per hour — it’s how Hawaiian Airlines is betting travelers will one day island hop from Maui to Oahu and beyond.

The largest commercial flight operator in America’s lone archipelago state announced a strategic investment in the Massachusetts firm that’s developing the breakthrough new boat-plane-glider on Wednesday…

Seagliders are categorized as Wing in Ground Effect craft, or WIGs, which are regulated by the US Coast Guard, and not the Federal Aviation Administration…

Regent’s seagliders can glide in and out of harbors, meaning they can use existing infrastructure, reducing capital costs. Their electric-battery-powered motors will also be welcome at Hawaiian, which partly attributed a disappointing $122 million loss in the first quarter to rising fuel prices.