Gözen Holding has committed to purchase or lease up to 50 VX4 eVTOL aircraft from Avolon, with the option to purchase or lease up to 50 additional aircraft, in a bid to commercialize zero-emission eVTOL travel in Turkey and develop an urban air mobility (UAM) platform.
The two companies will collaborate to identify and target local partners, research potential market opportunities, as well as infrastructure and certification requirements for UAM.
Mekin Gözen, Chairman of Gözen Holding, 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-emission eVTOL aircraft that will revolutionize 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.”
Dómhnal Slattery, CEO of Avolon commented: “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 emission 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 emission 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.”
According to Gözen Holding, Avolon will benefit from its expertise in airline operations, pilot training, airport handling and security, airline representation as well as digital platforms. In return, Gözen expects to benefit from Avolon’s industry expertise and global platform of UAM Working Groups, which are active in Brazil (GOL), Greenland (Air Greenland), Japan (Japan Airlines) and Southeast Asia (AirAsia).
Following the preliminary agreement for 100 vehicles, Gözen Holding expects to break new ground through the development of commercial air transportation with green energy in Turkey. The new partnership will initiate the electric aircraft to be used for the first time in world civil aviation.
Stephen Fitzpatrick, Founder and CEO of Vertical 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.”
