Ascendance Signs a Pre-Order Deal for 18 of its ‘Atea’ Aircraft

Ascendance, the company behind the hybrid-propulsion eVTOL ‘Atea’, has now signed a deal with Singapore-based private air charter company Yugo Global Industries for a pre-order of 18 of its new aircraft.

Ascendance, founded in 2018 by aerospace experts who were involved with Airbus’s E-FAN project, is developing a hybrid-electric eVTOL called the Atea that will be able to carry up to five passengers, with flight ranges of over 250 miles. The goal of Ascendance is to develop a eVTOL aircraft that will reduce emissions as compared to other regional aircraft by about 80%, as well as introduce new kinds of travel through vertical take-off and landing capabilities.

Now, marking a major milestone, Ascendance has made its first pre-sale of 18 Atea aircraft to Singapore-based private air charter company Yugo Global Industries. Currently, Yugo Global Industries operates a fleet of helicopters and private jets from makers such as Bombardier, Bell, Airbus, Leonardo, and Robinson. With the addition of the Atea aircraft from Ascendance, Yugo hopes to add sustainably powered, innovative aircraft to its fleet.

Yugo Global Industries currently services customers throughout Asia-Pacific, Europe and even North America, offering an on-demand digital booking system for private charter flights, cargo delivery, and air ambulance services. The company has been in operation since 2018, and has so far has generated over $11 billion USD in revenue.

“We are thrilled that Yugo has selected Atea to be their first hybrid-electric VTOL to fly their APAC (Asia Pacific) routes upon delivery in 2025,” said Thibault Baldivia, chief customer officer and co-founder of Ascendance.

Why it’s Important: The announcement of this partnership with Yugo Global Industries comes shortly after Ascendance announced a €10 million funding round to develop the Atea aircraft. With the influx of this capital in combination with the new deal with Yugo Global Industries, Ascendance now has both the funding it needs to complete its aircraft development and an operator customer set in place. If Ascendance keeps moving forward in its current trajectory, the Atea may likely become one of the first hybrid-electric eVTOL aircraft to begin regional chartered flights.

Source // eVTOL.com, Ascendance, Yugo Global Industries

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Ascendance Reveals its ‘ATEA’ eVTOL Aircraft Concept