Lilium Announces $1
Billion Deal with Brazilian Airline
The eVTOL
maker plans to sell 220 aircraft as it expands into South America.
By Flying Staff
August 6, 2021
This
artist’s rendering shows the seven-seater Lilium Jet flying over Rio de
Janeiro.Lilium
Lilium, a Germany-based
electric jet maker, has announced plans to sell 220 of its aircraft to
Brazilian airline Azul in a $1 billion commercial deal.
If finalized, the
agreement will represent the single largest order in the eVTOL startup’s
history, which has previously announced network launch plans in Europe and the
US.
As part of the
partnership, Azul would operate and maintain the Lilium Jet fleet, while Lilium
would provide an aircraft health monitoring platform, replacement batteries and
other custom spare parts, according to a news release. Azul also expects to
support Lilium with the necessary regulatory approval processes in Brazil for
certification of the Lilium Jet and any other required regulatory approvals.
The plan is to start the network up in 2025.
Lilium launched in 2015.
In 2020, it announced plans to build the first vertiport in the U.S. with the
construction of a $25 million, 56,000-square-foot facility in Orlando, Florida.
The first flight of the eVTOL took place in May
2019.
This week, Lilium also
announced the appointment of Gabrielle Toledano, chief operating officer at
Keystone Strategy and Henri Courpron, founder and chairman of Plane View
Partners and former CEO of ILFC and Airbus North America to its board of
directors.
The board will be chaired
by former Airbus CEO Thomas Enders, upon completion of Lilium’s merger with
special purpose acquisition company Qell. That
deal is expected to be complete in September.
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