JetSetGo signs pact for 150 aircraft worth $780 million

Advancing air mobility: Private jet and helicopter charters operator JetSetGo has partnered with global aviation firms Electra.aero, Horizon Aircraft and Overair for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) solutions in India, the company said on Friday.

Unveiled during the first AAM conference at Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad, JetSetGo is set to acquire 150 aircraft for an aggregate deal value of $780 million as part of the agreement signed this week.

The company added that the agreement leaves room for the acquisition of additional aircraft, to raise the fleet size to 280.

The overall deal value after the 130 potential add-ons will result in the order value to be above $1.3 billion, JetSetGo said in a statement.

Notably, AAM is another term for air taxi services which have been in the works across the globe. In November last year, China became the first country in the world to clear flying taxis for take-off, with a start-up in the nation receiving the first certificate of airworthiness for an autonomous flying taxi.

The advancement can potentially revolutionise transportation, ease congestion in urban areas and provide rapid regional connectivity.

JetSetGo said the three AAM aircraft designs selected offer airport transfers, regional connectivity, intercity commute, intracity shuttles and urban air taxis.

The private air travel based in New Delhi will first implement the hybrid-electric planes from Electra.aero and Horizon which can utilise existing infrastructure.

These will be followed by Overair’s Butterfly advanced electric eVTOL aircraft, which have future urban air mobility applications.

Kanika Tekriwal, CEO and co-founder of JetSetGo said, “Our partnership with these three leading innovators will introduce unique technologies like ‘blown lift’ and ‘fan-in-wing’ lift systems, hybrid and electric propulsion, and super-quiet optimal speed tilt rotors to India.”

We want to lead the transformation of urban and regional connectivity and believe we have the right partners and technologies to make this vision a reality, she added.

Electra.aero is located in Virginia, US and is an aerospace player in sustainable urban and regional mobility. Overair is based in California and is an air mobility company spun out of Karem Aircraft in 2020. Horizon Aircraft is a Canadian player, which recently went for public listing on the Nasdaq Stock Market.