Electric air taxi infrastructure start-up, Skyportz, has announced the establishment of Wilbur Air, a wholly owned subsidiary that will operate electric and hybrid aircraft from its network of vertiports across Australia. Wilbur Air will have priority access to Skyportz vertiport locations, which are set to be developed nationwide.
Wilbur Air plans to utilize a range of aircraft partners to support various services, including heavy lifting drone deliveries and both short and long-range passenger travel. The airline’s first aircraft partnership was with Electra.Aero.
Today, Wilbur Air and FlyNow announced a new partnership to introduce up to a hundred FlyNow aircraft into the Australian market. “We are very excited about the potential for the FlyNow aircraft initially for our automatic freight services, flying business to business,” said CEO Clem Newton-Brown. “Many of our Skyportz vertiport partners are industrial property owners which are searching for heavy lifting drone freight solutions.”
Newton-Brown emphasized the strategic approach to this partnership, stating, “Establishing a business-to-business freight service will enable us to prove the concept and operational safety in partnership with FlyNow, before we move to passenger applications.”
FlyNow’s CEO, Jurgen Greil, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration, stating, “We’re thrilled to announce a groundbreaking collaboration that will take urban transportation to new heights in Australia, integrating cutting-edge FlyNow eCopters into an extensive 3D-mobility network. FlyNow brings to the table our state-of-the-art, whisper-quiet eCopters, setting a new benchmark in eco-friendly, cost-effective, and efficient urban transport. Together, we’re not just connecting points on a map; we’re creating a seamless, sky-bound journey that’s as breathtaking as the innovation behind it.”
Skyportz has been focused on developing the Advanced Air Mobility infrastructure in Australia for the past five years. Its aim is to decouple aviation from traditional airports, allowing property owners to activate their sites with vertiports.
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Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
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