Private jet company ASL Group is buying six Lilium eVTOL jets to offer customers a "sustainable" travel option. But don't rush out to book tickets. The seven-seater jet remains in the prototype stage. The two parties announced the purchase on Monday at the Farnborough International Air Show in the United Kingdom. The ASL news follows a bigger announcement on Monday from Lilium after signing an options deal for 50 planes with the Bristow Group.

ASL wants to offer customers a sustainable air travel option

According to a media statement, ASL Group is a leading business jet operator in the Benelux, and the owner of the first electric aircraft in Belgium. Under the agreement, ASL Group and Lilium seek to establish a safe and sustainable eVTOL network across Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Western Germany.

"Our aircraft performance and low noise profile will be a great addition to ASL's fleet," says Daniel Wiegand, CEO of Lilium. "With the highest population density in Europe, Benelux represents a perfect use case for eVTOL transportation, and we are proud to support ASL's development in the region."

Lilium Seven Seater Jet At A
Lilium's planned eVTOL future includes landing sites around Western Europe for their small electric jets. Photo: Lilium

The Lilium eVTOL jet would join ASL's more traditional portfolio of planes

ASL Group manages and operates more than 45 aircraft, including a PC-12 and Beechcraft King Air turboprops, a Cirrus SF50 Vision jet, a Cessna C510 Citation Mustang, a C525 Citation jet, a C25A CJ2 jet, a C25B CJ3 jet, and a C560 Citation XLS jet.

Slightly larger are ASL's Cessna C650 Citation V11, Learjet 40, Learjet 45, C680 Citation Sovereign, C750 Citation X, Embraer E545 Legacy 450, Embraer E550 Legacy 500, Embraer Legacy 600, Bombardier Challenger 605, and Dassault Falcon 2000EX.

Simple Flying is at the Farnborough Airshow this week. For all the latest news from the show click here!

ASL's real head turners are the Dassault Falcon 7X, Embraer ERJ 135, and Embraer ERJ 145. That Dassault has a range of over 11,000 kilometers, and the two Embraers can fly up to 30 and 42 passengers, respectively.

Lilium's proposed seven-seater eVTOL aircraft won't be in the same league. The small jet's initial range will be up to 280 kilometers, which might be enough to get passengers from one side of Belgium to the other, but not much further. Lilium anticipates the piloted plane to be able to fly three paying passengers in "club mode," six paying passengers when not in club mode, or can be used as a short-haul freighter when stripped of seating.

"The Lilium Jet is a great opportunity to provide better value to our customers in a sustainable way. With zero operating emissions, vertical take-off landing capability, and a spacious premium cabin, Lilium represents the best option on the market," said Philippe Bodson, owner and CEO of ASL Group.

Lilium Seven Seater Jet Prototype
Lilium's seven-seater eVTOL jet remains in the prototype stage. Photo: Lilium

Lilium's seven-seater jet is still a prototype

Lilium has had its eVTOL prototypes in the air. Between 2015 and 2020, a five-seater jet conducted over 100 manned and unmanned flights. In 2020, a fire destroyed the prototype plane. Work then began on the current seven-seater plane.

Lilium's deal with ASL was overshadowed on Monday at Farnborough by a high-profile agreement with Bristow Group Inc, a provider of "innovative and sustainable vertical flight solutions." The non-binding Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") outlines a collaboration between Bristow and Lilium on developing a maintenance program to support the operation of the Lilium Jet.

The MOU also enables Bristow to become an authorized service provider for Lilium. The MOU further outlines how Lilium and Bristow may collaborate on the process for achieving the relevant regulatory approvals for operating the Lilium Jet in Florida and plans for Bristow to purchase 50 Lilium Jets.