Wilbur Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of Skyportz, is to operate electric and hybrid aircraft from the future network of vertiports in Australia. Wilbur Air will have priority access to the Skyportz vertiport locations to be developed around the country.

A range of aircraft partners will facilitate everything from heavy lifting drone deliveries to short and long range passenger travel. Wilbur Air's first aircraft partnership is with US-based Electra.aero, under which it will operate the first 100 Electra eSTOL aircraft in Australia.

"Electra is thrilled to partner with Wilbur Air in addressing Australia's distinct aviation needs. Our sustainable eSTOL aircraft is perfectly suited for Australia's diverse geography, with its ability to access short airstrips in both urban and remote areas while offering exceptional operational efficiency. Electra looks forward to supporting Wilbur Air in enhancing regional connectivity, accessibility and environmental stewardship throughout Australia," says Marc Ausman, Electra chief product officer.

"Wilbur Air will be establishing operational partnerships across Australia with existing small charter and helicopter companies interested in moving into advanced air mobility and flying under the Wilbur Air brand with priority access to our Skyportz vertiports," adds Newton-Brown CEO and founder of Skyportz and Wilbur Air. "We see great potential for the Electra.aero aircraft in Australia, given its unique long range capacity. We will have some further announcements soon regarding additional aircraft that will suit a range of uses that we intend to operate."

Skyportz has been assembling the pieces of the advanced air mobility puzzle in Australia for the last five years. Its focus is on breaking the nexus between aviation and airports, and enabling property owners to activate their sites with vertiports.

"There is enormous interest from the property industry to help us break the nexus between aviation and airports," Newton-Brown continues. "In the future, commercial and industrial landholders could be able to establish mini airports and vertistops to become part of the Skyportz network. We are working with governments, air regulators and communities to establish the parameters for the introduction of vertiport infrastructure and short take off and landing runways.

"If all the aircraft do is fly from airports and helipads then there will be no revolution. We need to start developing vertiports in new locations now."

Newton-Brown suggests that investors who have backed OEMs are now starting to realise that there has been underinvestment in the on demand AAM ecosystem. Skyportz provides consultancy and master planning services globally as communities around the world gear up for this revolution in aviation.