UK-based Lyte Aviation has received 10 pre-orders for its hydrogen-electric VTOL aircraft from US-based Ghenus Air, to be delivered within five to six years for its US and Korean markets.

“It is an honour for us to become so well supported in the aviation industry. Within only one year, we are collaborating in over 19 cities in four continents and have received in total 20 pre-orders worth $875 million during concept phase,” says Lyte CEO and founder Freshta Farzam. The company received its first 10 pre-orders from VMan Aviation for the Indian market in November 2023.

“This pre-order comes at a great time for us as we are expanding our portfolio, comprising the 40 seat SkyBus and the cargo SkyTruck, to meet huge demand in business aviation with a 19 seat LA-44 X Prime version,” Farzam adds. The 19 seat LA-44 X Prime is a derivative of its 40 seat SkyBus, aimed at business and private aviation users. It will have the same 620 mile range as the other variants.

She continues: "We are currently designing its interiors, varying from large meeting rooms in the sky that will take off right at your corporation’s doorstep, no runways required anymore, up to spacious solutions for families for a flight of two to three hours, taking off right from the doorstep of their homes. Not only that, Ghenus Air is targeting VIP clients in Seoul and Los Angeles, and the strong ties they have to Korea’s logistics and regional markets encouraged us to agree to the pre-orders.”

Ghenus CEO Joseph Kim comments: “We see high potential in the Korean and US regional air mobility markets. In the US, there is ample marketability for regional air services utilising under-utilised regional airports. And since Korea is pursuing a hydrogen economy, the use of the hydrogen-based Skybus and Skytruck is expected to make a significant contribution to improving the profitability of local airports that are suffering huge losses. In this regard, we are deeply grateful that we have the opportunity to purchase both those and Lyte Aviation’s LA-44 X Prime, and to establish new routes between existing regional airports and new vertiports.”

Ghenus Air has also pre-ordered 20 eVTOL aircraft from Plana, 20 UAVs from Traverse Aero and 50 eVTOLs from Odys Aviation. The operator, in business for just over a year, wants to branch out into air taxi operations from its current VIP car service business model.

“There are thousands of regional airports worldwide, most of them under-utilised. In the United States, 90 per cent of people live within a 30 minute drive of a regional airport, compared with 60 per cent for a commercial airport. This existing capacity of under-utilised airports could support a growing regional air mobility market with less investment and ramp-up time than other new modes of transport,” continues Kim. “Based on McKinsey Company analysis, regional air mobility can bring together new aviation technologies and existing small airport infrastructure into a transportation model that is more equitable, more economical and more environmentally friendly for air travel over short distances. If these changes materialise, the total addressable market for small regional flights globally could be $75 billion to $115 billion by 2035, representing 300 to 700 million passengers annually. And that is why we see the eVTOL aircraft by Lyte Aviation as an absolutely necessary vehicle to reach our future targets.”