Singapore-based digital charter booking platform Yugo Global Industries has signed a contract with French startup Ascendance Flight Technologies for the purchase of Yugo's VTOL aircraft, Atea.

“We are extremely pleased to partner with Ascendance Flight Technologies, a key player in the world's transition to decarbonated aviation,” says Yugo CEO and co-founder Jim Baldy. “The Atea is the perfect aircraft solution to our main goal: bringing sustainable, affordable, tailor-made flying services to our customers. The range, the capacity and the flexibility of this hybrid-electric VTOL will allow us to best fulfil, in the near future, the growing demand across APAC for convenient, eco-friendly and safe flights.”

Atea features 'fan-in-wing' technology, a sky-view cabin and eight new-generation shrouded rotors set in a tandem wing configuration. These allow for increased power during the take off and landing phases, as well as significant noise reduction.

“We are thrilled that Yugo has selected the Atea to be its first hybrid-electric VTOL, to fly its APAC routes upon delivery in 2025,” adds Ascendance chief customer officer and co-founder Thibault Baldivia. “Sustainable aviation isn't a far-away dream, it is soon to become a reality. We fully trust that Yugo's experience and capacity to operate a wide range of air mobility solutions will enable it to fully exploit the Atea's features throughout the many uses we designed it for. The fast-evolving Asian market offers many opportunities to reinvent air mobility, and we look forward to Yugo and the Atea participating in its evolution.”

Yugo has also recently signed an MoU with Electra.aero to acquire up to 12 Electra eSTOL aircraft. These aircraft will be able to take off and land in spaces as small as 300x100 ft, enabling flight operations from parking lots and remote landing strips. The piloted fixed-wing aircraft will carry up to nine passengers, or 1,800 pounds of cargo, up to 500 miles. Batteries will be recharged in-flight. Electra has commitments covering nearly 300 aircraft orders from partners around the world.