Gözen Holding has signed an agreement with aircraft lessor Avolon for the purchase or lease of up to 50 VX4 eVTOL aircraft with the option to purchase or lease up to 50 more. Avolon’s 500 VX4 order have now been fully placed, only nine months after launching the program.
On Tuesday (March 29, 2022), Avolon announced the placement of up to 100 Vertical Aerospace VX4 eVTOL aircraft with Gözen Holding, one of Turkey’s leading aviation conglomerates and owner of Freebird Airlines. The company has committed to the purchase or lease of up to 50 VX4s, with the option to purchase or lease up to 50 more. With Tuesday’s order, Avolon has now placed 100 percent of their order for 500 VX4 aircraft only nine months after launching the program. As part of the agreement, Avolon’s investment and innovation affiliate, Avolon-e, has formed a strategic partnership to commercialize zero-emissions eVTOL (electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing) travel and develop an industry leading urban air mobility (UAM) platform in Turkey.
In Tuesday’s announcement, Avolon’s CEO, Dómhnal Slattery, said,
“Today marks an important milestone on our eVTOL journey, as we have now fully placed our VX4 orderbook with some of the leading international airlines and aviation companies all over the world. 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. Our partnership with Gözen Holding will create a pioneer in UAM in Turkey, bringing sustainable air travel to the region.
“The strong demand for our VX4 orderbook and for 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 that want to purchase or lease the VX4 in order to fully size the potential market and demand for this aircraft.”
Also commenting on the new order, Gözen Holding’s CEO, Mekin Gözen, said,
“We are delighted to announce our partnership and VX4 order with Avolon. As an integral part of the Turkish aviation industry, we feel it is incumbent upon us to be at the forefront of the sustainability movement and that is why we identified Avolon, and Vertical’s VX4, as the zero emissions eVTOL aircraft that will revolutionise air travel. With over 15 million people living in Istanbul, the city is consistently faced with congestion which hinders both the cities’ development and attractiveness as a tourist and business location. We strongly believe that the deployment of the VX4 will dramatically reshape Istanbul and the rest of Turkey. Our partnership with Avolon will see us create an eVTOL ecosystem in the country and is the first step in delivering sustainable air travel to the region, position it as a global leader.”
Vertical Aerospace’s Founder and CEO, Stephen Fitzpatrick, added,
“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.”
In June 2021, Avolon ordered 500 eVTOL aircraft from Vertical Aerospace valued at $2.0 billion. Since that time, Avolon placed 250 XV4s with GOL and Grupo Comporte in Brazil, up to 100 with Japan Airlines, a minimum of 100 with AirAsia and up to 100 with Gözen Holding. Avolon’s entire VX4 orderbook has now been placed, with the orderbook being oversubscribed by 50 options.
Headquartered in Ireland, 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.
Source: Avolon