Avolon and Air Greenland Partner to Tackle Climate Change by Bringing Zero-emissions Air Travel to the Region
Air Greenland commits to purchasing or leasing from Avolon a fleet of Vertical Aerospace VX4 eVTOL aircraft
– Air Greenland is the first European airline to join Avolon’s eVTOL programme, starting its decarbonisation journey where it matters the most
DUBLIN & NUUK, Greenland–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Avolon, the international aircraft leasing company, announces that it has partnered with Air Greenland, the flag-carrier for Greenland, to bring zero-emissions travel to the region and help tackle the issue of climate change.
Avolon and Air Greenland will partner to form a Working Group to assess the opportunity to commercialise zero-emissions air travel in the region. The Working Group will also collaborate to identify local infrastructure and certification requirements for eVTOL aircraft.
As part of the agreement, Air Greenland will commit to purchasing or leasing a fleet of VX4 eVTOL aircraft, manufactured by Vertical Aerospace (NYSE: EVTL) (‘Vertical’), from Avolon. Upon its introduction, the VX4 will be the most advanced and the safest eVTOL in the market and will be built to EASA safety certification standards – the most stringent global requirements and at the same level as commercial aircraft. The VX4 will be near silent when in flight and will have zero operating emissions, transporting four passengers and one pilot distances of over 100 miles at up to 200 miles per hour. The size of Air Greenland’s VX4 fleet will be defined at the conclusion of the Working Group’s assessment of the scale of the market opportunity.
Slattery, CEO of Avolon commented: “Since our initial order, we have seen airlines all over the world make a commitment to the zero emissions travel by selecting the VX4 aircraft as the first step in their decarbonisation journey. Today’s announcement with Air Greenland means we are taking zero-emissions travel to where climate change is having its most pronounced impact. We look forward to working with Air Greenland to bringing the zero-operating emission VX4 aircraft to where it matters the most.”
Jacob Nitter Sørensen, CEO of Air Greenland, commented: “Today’s announcement marks the start of our long-term sustainability journey, and we are excited about bringing zero emissions travel to our region. In Greenland, we see the effects of climate change every day and, as a company, we want to be at the forefront of the climate revolution. The VX4 aircraft will have many uses for Air Greenland and, through our partnership with Avolon, we look forward to welcoming our first travellers onboard in the near future – flying our guests to Ilimanaq Lodge to show the visible impacts that climate change is having on our country and planet.”
Stephen Fitzpatrick, CEO of Vertical Aerospace, commented: “We are delighted that Air Greenland has chosen the VX4 to bring zero emissions air travel to the region. This partnership is a significant first step in introducing sustainable air mobility to Greenland.”
About Avolon’s VX4 Order book
In June 2021, Avolon ordered 500 VX4 eVTOL aircraft from Vertical, valued at US $2 billion. Since announcing that order, Avolon placed 250 VX4 aircraft with Gol and Grupo Comporte in Brazil, up to 100 aircraft with Japan Airlines in Japan, and a minimum of 100 aircraft with AirAsia. Avolon has now placed up to 90% of its initial orderbook, underlining the demand for VX4 aircraft from the world’s leading airlines.
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About VX4 eVTOL Aircraft
The four passenger, one pilot VX4 is projected to have speeds up to 200mph, a range over 100 miles, near silent when in flight, zero operating emissions and low cost per passenger mile. The VX4 is expected to open up advanced air mobility to a whole new range of passengers and transform how we travel. Find out more: vertical-aerospace.com
About Avolon
Headquartered in Ireland, with offices in the United States, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai, Avolon provides aircraft leasing and lease management services. Avolon is 70% owned by an indirect subsidiary of Bohai Leasing Co., Ltd., a public company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SLE: 000415) and 30% owned by ORIX Aviation Systems, a subsidiary of ORIX Corporation which is listed on the Tokyo and New York Stock Exchanges (TSE: 8591; NYSE: IX). Avolon is the world’s second largest aircraft leasing business with an owned, managed and committed fleet, as of 31 December 2021, of 824 aircraft.
Website: www.avolon.aero
Twitter: @avolon_aero
About Air Greenland
Air Greenland is owned by the Greenland Government and has flight operations to total of 62 destinations internally in Greenland and to and from Denmark and Iceland. The fleet consists of fixed-wing aircraft Airbus A330-200 and 7 Dash 8-200 to transport passengers and cargo, a King Air for medical evacuations and 17 helicopters of various types, which meets the need for passenger transport, mineral exploration, heliskiing, sightseeing, scientific expeditions, Search and Rescue, and in the maintenance of vital telecommunications infrastructure. As a key player in aviation on the world’s largest island, Air Greenland aims to facilitate Greenland’s infrastructure in a sustainable way by investing in the green conversion. To support a sustainable development in the tourism industry and the economic growth to the benefit of the country, Air Greenland supports the development of sustainable destinations and goals in the subsidiaries Hotel Arctic and Greenland Travel.
Website: www.airgreenland.com
LinkedIn: Air Greenland
About Vertical Aerospace
Vertical Aerospace is pioneering electric aviation. The company was founded in 2016 by Stephen Fitzpatrick, an established entrepreneur best known as the founder of the Ovo Group, a leading energy and technology group and Europe’s largest independent energy retailer. Over the past five years, Vertical has focused on building the most experienced and senior team in the eVTOL industry, who have over 1,700 combined years of engineering experience, and have certified and supported over 30 different civil and military aircraft and propulsion systems.
Vertical’s top-tier partner ecosystem is expected to de-risk operational execution and its pathway to certification allows for a lean cost structure and enables production at scale. Vertical has a market-leading pre-order book (by value) for a total of up to 1,350 aircraft from American Airlines, Avolon, Bristow and Iberojet, which includes conditional pre-order options from Virgin Atlantic and Marubeni, and in doing so, is creating multiple potential near term and actionable routes to market. Vertical’s ordinary shares listed on the NYSE in December 2021 under the ticker “EVTL”. Find out more: www.vertical-aerospace.com
Contacts
Avolon
Ross O’Connor
Head of Capital Markets
roconnor@avolon.aero
T: +353 1 231 5818
Jonathan Neilan/Sam Moore
FTI Consulting
avolon@fticonsulting.com
M: +353 86 231 4135/+353 87 737 9089
Air Greenland
Jacob Nitter Sørensen
CEO
nit@airgreenland.gl
T: +299 34 34 34
Jørn Elfving Rasmussen
Technical Director
jeu@airgreenland.gl
T: +299 34 34 34
