Sales of the Vertical Aerospace eVTOL flying taxi have taken off since the launch of the company's VX4 model in 2020. With its first flight due in 2024, demand for the all-new aircraft is gathering momentum, with total sales exceeding expectations.

Leading the way in eVTOL technology

Vertical Aerospace (Vertical) is proving to be a true pioneer in developing all-electric aviation. It is leading the way with its revolutionary eVTOL (electric Vertical Take-off and Landing) air-taxi aircraft, the VX4, first unveiled in August 2020.

The VX4 is Vertical's flagship offering for the emerging market for all-electric, commercial aircraft is the VX4. The four-passenger, one pilot VX4 is projected to have speeds up to 200mph, a range over 100 miles, to be near-silent when in flight, and with zero operating emissions and low costs per passenger-mile. The VX4, according to the company, is expected to open up advanced air mobility to a whole new market of passengers and transform how people travel, particularly in urban areas.

The VX4 is coming

With its partners, which include Rolls-Royce, Honeywell, Microsoft, GKN, and Leonardo, Vertical is now well into the final build stages of the VX4 prototype, with its test flight program due to start towards the end of 2022. According to Vertical, the net funding requirement to certify the eVTOL, develop a manufacturing facility, development of the company's commercial platform, and scale-up production is expected to be approximately US$250 million.

Vertical Aerospace aims for type certification for its VX4 eVTOL aircraft with the UK Civil Aviation Authority and EASA in 2024, with deliveries and rapid high-scale production set to begin the same year.

In the last few years, several companies have started developing eVTOL aircraft. These include Embraer, Airbus, and Boeing, amongst a plethora of other smaller manufacturers. Although some are attracting more attention than others, the Embraer-owned EVE being a case in point, it is clear that the overall eVTOL trend is only moving forward as worldwide interest in zero-emissions air travel increases.

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The VX4 is currently leading the order race for eVTOL aircraft. Photo: Vertical Aerospace

A growing order book

Vertical has sold its VX4 aircraft directly to a broad range of customers, including aircraft lessors, airlines, helicopter operators, and tourism groups. The global reach achieved through Vertical's conditional pre-orders for its VX4 means it has the largest pre-order book by value currently in the eVTOL market, worth US$5.4bn. With its existing customers alone, the VX4 will fly in the US, UK, Japan, Brazil, Turkey, Greenland, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean, which the company promises will be by the middle of this decade.

Since the launch of the VX4, Vertical has racked up pre-orders for up to 1,350 aircraft. Customers include American Airlines, Avolon, Bristow, and Iberojet, along with conditional pre-orders from Virgin Atlantic and Marubeni Holdings in Japan. This order book is worth in the region of US$5.4 billion - quite a staggering amount for an aircraft that is yet to fly.

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Several companies have pre-ordered Vertical's eVTOL, including Virgin Atlantic. Photo: Virgin Atlantic.

Avalon is attracting interest in leasing options

Last week, Vertical announced that the launch customer for the VX4, the worldwide leasing company Avalon, has sold out its pre-order of 500 aircraft in just nine months. Avolon, the world's second-largest aircraft lessor with its headquarters in Ireland, pre-ordered 500 VX4s in June 2021 worth in the region of US$2 billion. It has succeeded in placing all of these units and an additional 50 aircraft options with leading global airlines.

This astonishing achievement in this timeframe has been reached by Avalon placing aircraft with major airlines such as JAL, AirAsia, and Brazil's largest airline GOL. Avolon's success in placing 550 VX4s in under a year emphasizes the high demand for the aircraft and displays the significant growth in market appetite for eVTOLs.

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Photo: Vertical Aerospace 

Avolon exceeding its VX4 pre-orders marks a significant milestone in its partnership with Vertical and further reflects Avolon's confidence in Vertical's electric aircraft, which is on track to be flying in cities worldwide by the middle of the decade. Vertical and Avolon are collaborating with the VX4's airline customers in working groups to accelerate the deployment of the VX4, as well as on eVTOL infrastructure and regional-specific certification requirements.

Announcing the achievement made by Avalon in securing customers for its initial batch of 500 VX4 aircraft last week, Dómhnal Slattery, CEO of Avolon, commented,

"Today marks an important milestone on our eVTOL journey, as we have now fully placed our VX4 order book with some of the leading international airlines and aviation companies worldwide. 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. The strong demand for our VX4 order book and 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 who want to purchase or lease the VX4 to size this aircraft's potential market and demand fully."

Facilitated by the agreement with Avalon, Vertical recently announced that the Turkish aviation group Gözen Holdings would acquire up to 100 VX4 eVTOL aircraft.

Announcing the latest developments in sales for the VX4, Stephen Fitzpatrick, Founder & CEO of Vertical, 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."

The VX4's customer list

  • American Airlines - 250 plus options on a further 150 (in addition to a US$25 million investment in Vertical)
  • Virgin Atlantic - 150
  • Bristow Group - 50
  • Marubeni Holdings - 200
  • Iberojet - 150
  • JAL - 100 (leased through Avalon)
  • GOL - 250 (leased through Avalon)
  • AirAsia - 100 (leased through Avalon)
  • Gözen Holdings - 100 (leased through Avalon)
  • Air Greenland - Undisclosed (leased through Avalon)
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Air Greenland has declared an interest in acquiring an undisclosed number of VX4 aircraft through Avalon.  Photo: Air Greenland

Brazil will see eVTOL operations

Avalon also played a crucial part in securing a deal with GOL Linhas Aereas for up to 250 VX4 aircraft. Gol is a low-cost carrier operating throughout Brazil and other parts of South America and is entering the deal alongside Grupo Comporte, a major Brazilian transport consortium. According to Vertical, the VX4 is ideal for a sprawling city such as Sao Paulo, which has a population of over 22 million people.

The partners intend to use the GOL brand to operate scheduled services in a country with around 100 million domestic airline passengers each year. Brazil is a substantial market for business jets and chartered helicopter operations, commonly used to avoid severe road gridlock in major cities like Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

On announcing the deal with GOL, Dómhnal Slattery said,

"This announcement is a significant step in building an eVTOL ride-sharing platform that will reshape the commercial aviation market in Brazil. The opportunities to deploy the VX4 are enormous. Gol and Grupo Comporte both bring broad and diverse networks and proven track records of scaling business, making them the ideal strategic partners for Avolon."

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The future is likely to see eVTOL operations in heavily populated cities worldwide, including Sao Paulo. Photo: GOL

Also commenting on how the VX4 is ideally suited to the proposed GOL operations in Brazil, Stephen Fitzpatrick added,

"The VA-X4 is ideal for a city like Sao Paulo with over 22 million people. Our eVTOLs will transform how we travel around high-population-density cities clogged with traffic by taking to the skies with zero-emissions aircraft."

The future is electric

It is becoming clear that there is enormous interest in eVTOL technology. As demand for zero-emissions, carbon-neutral travel increases exponentially, airlines and air taxi operators are likely to look increasingly to travel solutions in the urban air mobility (UAM) market.

The UAM market is projected to grow from $2.6 billion in 2020 to $9.1 billion by 2030. In 2021 alone, investment in the industry skyrocketed with $4.7 billion announced to develop eVTOL vehicles. The key components driving this trend are recent technological advancements and the need for more affordable, rapid, and sustainable travel.

How do you see the market for UAM aircraft developing? Are you excited by the prospect of seeing such aircraft in the skies in the near future? Do let us have your comments.