Flight-booking platform Helipass is positioning itself as a key enabler for commercial eVTOL operations, with plans to transition from a current business model based entirely on rotorcraft. The France-based company is in talks with its network of around 120 helicopter operators to encourage them to transition to electric aircraft. Helipass seeks to provide a user-friendly booking platform for customers and also software that operators can use to handle payments, fleet planning, and passenger records.
Helipass recently reached an agreement with Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions to market up to 100,000 flight hours annually in the Embraer subsidiary’s four-passenger eVTOL. However, the company intends to include other eVTOL types in its platform and has already approached manufacturers Volocopter, Joby, and Lilium.
Company president Frederic Aguettant views sightseeing flights as an early market for eVTOL passenger operations. He pointed to popular locations such as Hawaii, the Grand Canyon, and New York City, where there is strong demand but also a concern about helicopter noise.
Aguettant sees the volume of eVTOL usage stacking up quickly: “When [the industry] is flying around six million helicopter tours, each for an average of 20 minutes and with four or five passengers, you can see what’s happening in the market, and this equates to 500,000 hours.” He believes new eVTOL services will gain significant momentum in the latter half of this decade.
Want more? You can find a longer version of this article at FutureFlight.aero, a news and information resource developed by AIN to provide objective coverage and analysis of cutting-edge aviation technology.