AirAsia to lease 100 Vertical Aerospace flying taxis from Avolon for Southeast Asia ride-sharing platform

AirAsia has signed a non-binding agreement with aircraft leasing firm Avolon for the lease of a minimum of 100 units of the Vertical Aerospace VX4 electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, the airline said in a statement.

This agreement for at least 100 units for AirAsia is part of Avolon’s order of 500 units of the VX4 aircraft that was placed in June 2021, valued at US$2 billion (RM8.36 billion). Of these, 250 units have been allocated for Gol and Grupo Comporte in Brazil, 100 units for Japan Airlines and 100 units for AirAsia.

Regulators in Malaysia and Singapore are likely to approve operations far more quickly than in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, AirAsia parent company Capital A CEO Tony Fernandes told Reuters. According to Avolon CEO and chairman of Vertical Aerospace Domhnal Slattery, test flights of the VX4 will commence this April.

Customers will be able to book the airborne ride-sharing services through AirAsia’s mobile app and will be offered at an accessible price point, like how its budget airline had done for its regular flights, Fernandes said. “We don’t want this to be an exclusive product. We want everyone to be able to use this product,” he said.

The Vertical Aerospace VX4 is an eVTOL aircraft that accommodates one pilot and four passengers, and is projected to have a top speed of 202 mph (325 km/h), and have a range of over 100 miles (160 km). This is a tilt-rotor fixed wing configuration, and its electric powertrain is rated at over one megawatt, or 1,341 hp.

Its airframe is constructed of a carbon composite, and Vertical Aerospace claims that the VX4 is 15 dB quieter than a helicopter, emitting 45 dB at a cruise and 60 dB when hovering.

Founded in 2016 by Stephen Fitzpatrick, who is also founder of UK energy provider Ovo Energy, Vertical Aerospace is based in Bristol, United Kingdom, and their first eVTOL aircraft, the VA-X1 was granted flight permission by the Civil Aviation Authority in 2018.

The VX4 was unveiled in 2021, and its flight test programme is scheduled to continue through this year. Type certification of the VX4 by the CAA and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is scheduled for 2024, when the first deliveries and upscaled production of the eVTOL aircraft is planned to commence.

In March last year, AirAsia revealed that it aimed to launch its flying taxi service by this year, partnering with the National Technology and Innovation Sandbox (NTIS) for its urban drone delivery service. The NTIS has been working closely with the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) to ensure that the safety and security of unmanned air services in urban environments meet the standards set by CAAM.

Meanwhile on terra firma, AirAsia entered the ride-sharing market in Malaysia with AirAsia Ride, which was launched in August last year. Formed from the purchase of ride-sharing provider Dacsee, and which is accessed through AirAsia’s Super App. We’ve given it a try with several rides, and compared it against the key player, Grab; read about our findings here.

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