Today, representatives of Saudi Arabia’s state aviation company Saudia Group signed a contract for the purchase of 100 flying taxis at the German headquarters of Lilium. This became the largest confirmed contract for a new type of urban mobility – 5-6-seater electric aircraft with vertical take-off and landing. With the funds received, Lilium will be able to complete the development and certification of the machine, as well as launch it into production.
Image source: Lilium
Aerotaxi Lilium is a tiltrotor in the form of an airplane glider with 34 rotary duct fans on the wings. The aircraft design will allow you to develop a decent horizontal speed and save battery power during the flight. This promises to be a fairly quiet, environmentally friendly and low-maintenance air transport, much cheaper to operate than traditional helicopters. True, the cost of such machines at the dawn of their production will be rather high. For example, the retail price of the Lilium Pioneer electric aircraft will be $10 million. At the same time, the contract with the Saudis for the supply of 100 aircraft with all options is estimated at $700 million, which is clearly cheaper than the previously announced cost of one aircraft.
The Saudia Group plans to use Lilium electric aircraft to develop tourism in the country and transport pilgrims to sacred places for Muslims. To attract tourists, Saudi Arabia has also ordered “thousands” of one- and two-seater drones for the 2030 World Expo in Riyadh. The country and its authorities want to remain at the forefront of progress, hatching plans to sooner or later get off the oil needle.
For Lilium, the new “firm” contract has become another support for bringing electric aircraft to fruition. The first commercial model should be certified for production and operation in 2025. For now, she is far from this. Flights with people on board are not yet possible. However, this did not stop Lilium from concluding 106 preliminary contracts for the future supply of flying taxis, concluding 76 optional agreements and signing about 600 memorandums of agreement with the possibility of converting them into contracts. In theory, the German Lilium plant (which has not yet been built) will produce up to 400 flying taxis per year. Entering foreign markets will allow us to expand production in other countries.
So far, all this looks like a division of the skin of a bear that has not yet been killed. The world’s first commercial production of flying taxis was launched only in China. The company should deliver the first batch of 50 Lilium electric aircraft to Saudi Arabia by 2029. But the first such machines may appear there as early as 2026. This makes sense for assessing their airworthiness and training the personnel of the company that will operate them.