Aircraft lessor Avolon has exceeded its 500-unit preorder of Vertical Aerospace’s VX4 electric aircraft within nine months. Avolon preordered the aircraft in June 2021 and has already placed all of the units as well as an additional 50 aircraft options.

Avolon placed the aircraft with airlines such as JAL, AirAsia and Gol, in addition to a recent placement with Turkish aviation group Gözen Holding for up to 100 VX4 eVTOL aircraft.

“We are delighted that Turkey has been added to the global destinations where the VX4 will fly,” Stephen Fitzpatrick, founder and CEO of Vertical Aerospace, said. “We look forward to welcoming Gözen into the Vertical family and continue to celebrate our growing partnership with Avolon.”

Vertical Aerospace has sold its VX4 aircraft directly to a range of customers, including aircraft lessors, airlines, helicopter operators and tourism groups. According to Vertical Aerospace, its preorder book in the eVTOL market is valued at $5.4 billion. Including Avolon’s placements, the VX4 will fly in the United States, the UK, Japan, Brazil, Turkey, Greenland, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean.

Vertical Aerospace and Avolon are collaborating with the VX4’s airline customers in working groups to accelerate the deployment of the VX4, as well as on eVTOL infrastructure and regional-specific certification requirements.

Together with its partners, including Rolls-Royce, Honeywell and Microsoft, along with GKN, Leonardo and Solvay, Vertical Aerospace is now in the later build stages of the VX4, with its full test flight program to commence later this year.

“Today marks an important milestone on our eVTOL journey, as we have now fully placed our VX4 orderbook with some of the leading international airlines and aviation companies all over the world,” Dómhnal Slattery, CEO of Avolon, said. “The opportunities to deploy the VX4 are enormous and, as is evident with our placement progress to date, zero emissions eVTOL air travel will reshape the short-haul travel market. Our partnership with Gözen Holding will create a pioneer in UAM in Turkey, bringing sustainable air travel to the region.

“The strong demand for our VX4 orderbook and for zero emissions travel confirms our view that demand for eVTOL aircraft would always outstrip supply. As a result, we will continue working with other partners that want to purchase or lease the VX4 in order to fully [seize] the potential market and demand for this aircraft.”