Aviation
Commercial /
Brazil
Urban mobility
While eVTOLs are closer to reality, Azul is already planning affordable flights
eVTOL da Lilium
Divulgação
Rafael Ramos
9/9/2021
The electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle (eVTOL) is no longer so far away, with many companies already planning their development and operations. In addition to having already announced the acquisition of eVTOLs units, Azul announced that it will invest more than 1 billion dollars in a kind of “Uber” in aviation.
Some companies already make shared flights by air taxi, such as Uber, like Flapper. But flights still don't take place on eVTOLs. Azul's idea, on the other hand, is to make short flights (up to 250 km) on routes that are currently restricted to helicopter flights. eVTOL would be the center of this type of operation, as it does not need a runway.
Azul calculates that 100-kilometer helicopter flights can cost around 2000 reais, which could be reduced – to around 500 reais – with the use of eVTOLs.
The airline recently announced the acquisition of eVTOLs from the German company Lilium, which has six seats for passengers plus one for the pilot, making the capacity close to that of a helicopter. In fact, the company received criticism for not having acquired the Brazilian Embraer model.
The justification may be from the point of view of the performance of each of the vehicles, since Lilium's has 36 electric motors with a cruise speed of 280 km/h and flies up to 3 km in altitude, while the Embraer model is more focused on shorter operations and at lower altitudes.
Azul's project should start operating in 2025.
eVTOL
Eve
Image: Embraer
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Rafael Ramos
Aviation enthusiast from an early age, he had his first contacts with the area developing that good old habit of spending dozens of hours in front of the screens of Micrsoft Flight Simulator and other simulators. With a solid background in various technological areas, including engineering and chemistry, Rafael has rejoined aviation as editor and author of articles and materials on our portal, providing invaluable help to the dynamics and expansion of the website and the aeronautical community, bringing us the news and updates so indispensable for us to remain current in our area of operation.
   
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