IRELAND/UK. Aircraft leasing company Avolon has announced that it has exceeded its 500 unit pre-order of Vertical Aerospace’s VX4 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft within nine months.
Avolon, the world’s second largest aircraft lessor, pre-ordered the VX4s last Summer and has just placed the last 50 of these units with Turkish aviation group, Gözen Holding, which also has an option to purchase or lease up to 50 additional XV4s.
The Turkish aviation group joins carriers such as such as Japan Airlines, AirAsia and Brazil’s largest airline Gol in pre-ordering XV4s.
Avolon noted that the urban air mobility (UAM) market potential in Istanbul, Turkey and surrounding countries is significant. It said Istanbul offers one of the most unique opportunities worldwide for eVTOLs due to its distant airports, traffic congestion and vast waterway networks.
With over 50 million people using ferries or city boats in Istanbul every year, eVTOLs could offer a faster, quieter and more sustainable form of travel, helping reduce travellers’ environmental footprint, Avolon noted.
Avolon CEO Dómhnal Slattery said: “Today marks an important milestone on our eVTOL journey, as we have now fully placed our VX4 orderbook with some of the leading international airlines and aviation companies all over the world. The opportunities to deploy the VX4 are enormous and, as is evident with our placement progress to date, zero emissions eVTOL air travel will reshape the short-haul travel market.
He added: “Our partnership with Gözen Holding will create a pioneer in UAM in Turkey, bringing sustainable air travel to the region. The strong demand for our VX4 order book and for zero emissions travel confirms our view that demand for eVTOL aircraft would always outstrip supply.
“As a result, we will continue working with other partners that want to purchase or lease the VX4 in order to fully size the potential market and demand for this aircraft.”
Vertical Aerospace Founder & CEO Stephen Fitzpatrick said “We are delighted that Turkey has been added to the global destinations where the VX4 will fly. We look forward to welcoming Gözen into the Vertical family and continue to celebrate our growing partnership with Avolon.”
Together with its partners including Rolls-Royce, Honeywell and Microsoft, along with GKN, Leonardo and Solvay, Vertical is now in the later build stages of the VX4. Its full test flight programme is due to commence later this year.
The global reach achieved through UK-headquartered Vertical’s conditional pre-orders for its VX4 – including those placed by Avolon – means it now has the largest pre-order book by value in the eVTOL market, at US$5.4bn. The placements secured to date mean that the VX4 is already set to fly in the US, UK, Japan, Brazil, Turkey, Greenland, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean.
Vertical and Avolon are collaborating with the VX4’s airline customers in UAM working groups to accelerate the deployment of the VX4, as well as on eVTOL infrastructure and regional-specific certification requirements.
Note: To subscribe free of charge to our new newsletter focusing on the eVTOL and urban air mobility industry, please email Kristyn@MoodieDavittReport.com headed ‘Urban Air Mobility Newsletter’.
All stories will be permanently archived on a dedicated page on our website. For sponsorship and content opportunities, please email Mark@MoodieDavittReport.com.
