Lessor Avolon and low-cost carrier AirAsia signed a memorandum of understanding for the lease of 100 VX4 eVTOLs developed by Vertical Aerospace. This is done with the aim of offering more efficient options to its passengers.
“Avolon and AirAsia will form a working group to pursue local certification, investigate potential market opportunities and infrastructure requirements for UAM. AirAsia will also leverage its successful travel and lifestyle mobile app, AirAsia Super App. This app will help to support and build an eVTOL ridesharing platform with Avolon,” claims a statement issued by the lessor.
The VX4 developed by Vertical Aerospace is capable of carrying four passengers and a pilot, flying at speeds of up to 320 km/h over a range of more than 160 kilometers with no carbon emissions. The company expects to achieve model certification by 2024.
“In June 2021, Avolon ordered 500 VX4 eVTOL aircraft from Vertical Aerospace valued at $2 billion. Since announcing that order, Avolon placed 250 VX4 aircraft with Gol and Grupo Comporte in Brazil, up to 100 aircraft with Japan Airlines in Japan, and a minimum of 100 aircraft with AirAsia. As a result, Avolon has already realized up to 90% of its initial order book, underscoring the demand for VX4 aircraft from the world’s leading airlines,” they reported.
See also: GOL and Grupo Comporte agree with Avolon for 250 eVTOLs from Vertical Aerospace
Ceo’s words
Dómhnal Slattery, CEO of Avolon, stated, “We are delighted to partner with AirAsia. They share our vision of revolutionizing the future of air travel. We look forward to working with Tony and the AirAsia team on their eVTOL journey. Together we will develop a ride-sharing platform and bring the zero-emission VX4 aircraft into service. And we will be positioning AirAsia as the operator of choice for sustainable air travel in the region.”
In this regard, Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A (AirAsia) commented that “innovation has always been in our DNA and using technology to find more efficient and sustainable ways of doing things is a core focus at Capital A (…)”. He said “I am really excited about this partnership between Avolon and AirAsia and the potential for ultra-short haul zero-emission air travel in Southeast Asia. The digital age is now. In the VX4, we have identified what we believe will be the eVTOL aircraft of choice. We are delighted to be the launch carrier for the aircraft in Southeast Asia.”
For his part, Stephen Fitzpatrick, Vertical’s CEO, said, “We are delighted that AirAsia is the latest leading airline to commit to leasing our zero operational emissions VX4 aircraft. AirAsia provides many fantastic opportunities to travel around some of the most beautiful and diverse countries in the world. I am delighted that we will be bringing zero-emission flights to people across Asia.”
The VX4 will operate without emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. It will also greatly reduce noise pollution. This will be producing about 100 times less noise when cruising than a conventional helicopter and 30 times less when landing and taking off, according to Vertical Aerospace’s model specifications.
