ITA Airways, Airbus, UrbanV and Enel are partnering to promote and develop the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) ecosystem in Italy.
The collaboration aims to promote this new disruptive technology and the development of a sustainable transportation solution with the commitment and cooperation of the national mobility stakeholders.
This partnership expands on the initial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ITA Airways and Airbus that was signed in April 2022 and includes two additional partners, UrbanV, the vertiport network operator, and Enel as solutions provider.
This new MoU will concentrate on establishing a joint roadmap for the development of an AAM ecosystem in Italy where the airline operator, the eVTOL manufacturer (OEM), the energy solution provider and the vertiport operator will work together to evaluate various business models in cooperation with national stakeholders that are crucial to the introduction of this new service in Italy.
Concretely, the partners will focus on how to operate Airbus eVTOL CityAirbus NextGen, investigating the standardization of ground services such as energy supply, charging infrastructures and support and service concepts, vertiport and its network planning as well as defining passenger experience models and suitable routes.
Francesco Presicce, Accountable Manager and Chief Technology Officer of ITA Airways, said: “ITA Airways started to operate in October 2021. Since the beginning, we decided to look forward and bet on innovation. In this framework, in April 2022 ITA Airways and Airbus started a journey together, which resulted in the development of this ecosystem, today a reality. This proves that we are on the right track to design the future of Advanced Air Mobility improving the passenger experience.”
“At Airbus we know that a successful AAM business will require much more than just developing the vehicle, it is essential to co-create the conditions for that vehicle to be operated and supported. We have some experience in developing AAM ecosystems such as the Air Mobility Initiative (AMI) in Bavaria,” said Balkiz Sarihan, Head of UAM at Airbus. “We are thrilled by this opportunity to work on the development of such an ecosystem in Italy.”
Carlo Tursi, Chief Executive Officer of UrbanV, added; “At UrbanV, we aim to improve people’s lives by enabling a fast, efficient, safe and clean alternative to existing transport solutions for people and goods over short distances, by air. We have the ambition to become a major global operator of vertiport networks and we will be global pioneers in establishing some of the first AAM routes worldwide. We are excited to partner with Airbus, Enel, and ITA Airways, three leaders in their respective fields, and we look forward to exploring together with them the great potential of Urban Air Mobility in the Italian market.”
