Future urban air mobility aircraft won’t simply be used for (relatively) affordable, carbon-free public transport like air taxis and other forms of aerial ride-sharing. Now next-generation craft developer Lilium is also looking to market its electric takeoff and landing (eVTOL) jet to the well-heeled elite as inner and inter-city supplements to their globe-spanning private planes.
Germany-based Lilium announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding with NetJets Inc., the world’s largest private jet company, to buy up to 150 eVTOL craft for use by affluent clients. Under the agreement, Lilium planes would be configured to fly four to six passengers that NetJets will sell under shared-ownership arrangements to clients in the US and Europe. For customers who can’t bear the idea of third-party buns sullying their aircraft seats – and have the dough to finance their own for exclusive use – sales to individual owners will also be possible.
Under the…
