Gol and Grupo Comporte have ordered 250 VA-X4 aircraft from international aircraft leasing company Avolon. With the new order, over 50 percent of Avolon’s order book for the aircraft type has been placed. The partnership will create an eVTOL ride sharing program in Brazil.
On Tuesday (September 21, 2021), Avolon, the international aircraft leasing company, announced the placement of 250 VA-X4 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft with Gol and Grupo Comporte, which will be purchased or leased. The partnership will create and eVTOL ride sharing platform in Brazil. With the new order, Avolon has now placed over 50 percent of their VA-X4 order book. T he VA-X4 will be manufactured by Vertical Aerospace with a planned introduction in 2024. Avolon will be a launch customer for the zero emissions aircraft which can transport four passengers 100 miles at up to 200 miles per hour. Avolon announced an order for 500 VA-X4s in June 2021.
In Tuesday’s announcement, Avolon’s CEO, Dómhnal Slattery, said,
“Today’s announcement represents a significant step in building an eVTOL ride sharing platform that will reshape the commercial aviation market in Brazil. The opportunities to deploy the VA-X4 are enormous. Gol and Grupo Comporte both bring broad and diverse networks, along with proven track records in scaling multiple businesses, making them the ideal strategic partners for Avolon. Their unparalleled market access, coupled with our deep knowledge and relationships in the Brazilian aviation market, leaves us strongly positioned to capitalize on the expected demand for VA-X4 zero-emissions, ultra-short-haul transport.
“This latest agreement underlines Avolon’s ability to fast track the commercialization of the VA-X4 globally. In less than three months since becoming a launch partner for the aircraft, we have already placed over half of our initial aircraft order, demonstrating the significant appetite we are seeing from the world's airlines for the VA-X4.”
Also commenting on the major VA-X4 placement, Vertical Aerospace’s CEO, Stephen Fitzpatrick said,
“The VA-X4 is ideal for a city like São Paolo with a population of over 22 million people. Our eVTOLs will transform how we travel around high population density cities that are clogged with traffic by taking to the skies with zero emissions aircraft. We look forward to working with our existing partners Avolon and our newest partners Gol and Grupo Comporte, on bringing this revolution in air travel to Brazil.”
Founded in 2001, GOL is the largest airline in Brazil, carrying over 33M customers annually on 750 daily flights to over 100 destinations in Brazil, South America, the Caribbean and the U.S. The Brazilian carrier employs 15,000 team members and operates a standardized fleet of 127 Boeing 737s. GOL also maintains a strategic partnership with the Air France-KLM Group and has 14 codeshare and 77 interline agreements, providing guests convenient seamless connections throughout their partners’ networks.
Headquartered in Dublin, Avolon is a major international provider of aircraft leasing and lease management services. The company also has offices in the U.S., Dubai, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Avolon is 70 percent owned by an indirect subsidiary of Bohai Leasing Co., Ltd., a public company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and 30 percent owned by ORIX Aviation Systems, a subsidiary of ORIX Corporation. Avolon is the world’s third-largest aircraft leasing business with a fleet of 837 owned, managed and committed aircraft as of June 2021.
Source: Avolon