Brazil's largest airliner Gol has revealed it will be launching a fleet of 250 eVTOL aircraft in São Paulo which could offer public transport cheaper than market competitors such as Uber.
GOL eVTOL VA-X4. Credit: Avolon
An artists' impression of the Gol eVTOL planes flying above São Paulo. Credit: Avolon
The deal is a result of a letter of agreement between the airliner and Irish leasing company Avolon which could see these new planes flying above the streets of Brazil's largest city by mid-2025.
Read more: eVTOL viability will require significant innovations, report claims
The companies will search together to provide partners to deliver on the necessary infrastructure and certification parameters that will need to be met in order to implement ride-sharing services within the city.
The VA-X4 airliner looks like a miniature helicopter and the company claims it is the safest eVTOL aircraft of its type, which can reportedly travel up to 321 km/h (200 mph) for a distance of 160 km (100 miles).
The model was originally designed by UK-based company Vertical Aerospace. Back in June, Avolon managed to secure 500 units valued at $2 billion.
The bill for implementation of the project will be footed by Brazilian investment firm Grupo Comporte.
Avolon's CEO Dómnhal Slattery revealed this project had the potential to "reshape the commercial aviation market" in Brazil adding there were plenty of opportunities to deploy the aircraft.
This project involves deploying half of the order the Irish company purchased from Vertical, he added, hinting at the potential for a global rollout of the aircraft.
Read more: Urban Air-Port & Hyundai team up to develop urban air mobility hubs
São Paulo is the largest Portuguese-speaking city in the world and is home to 22 million people. Commercial aircraft could help to reduce road congestion taken up by transport which is common with such high population densities.
"The VA-X4 is ideal for a city like São Paulo," Stephen Fitzpatrick, Vertical Aerospace's CEO said in a statement. "Our [aircraft] will transform how we travel around high population density cities that are clogged with traffic by taking to the skies with zero-emissions aircraft."
Back to Homepage
Back to Transportation