Electric flying taxis jetted a little closer to reality after British entrepreneur Stephen Fitzpatrick unveiled plans to list his start-up Vertical Aerospace on the New York Stock Exchange with an equity value of $2.2 billion.
Bristol-based Vertical Aerospace, which designs and builds electric aircraft that are “near silent”, can reach speeds of more than 300kph and have zero emissions, plans to go public in the second half of this year thanks to special purpose acquisition company (Spac) merger.
Serial entrepreneur Mr Fitzpatrick, who also founded energy company Ovo Group, said the aircraft would take to the skies in 2024, with the listing coming “at the most exciting time in aviation for almost a century”.
“Electrification will transform flying in the 21st century in the same way the jet engine did 70 years ago,” he said.
“The UK is already a global leader in aerospace innovation and we believe Vertical Aerospace will be the British engineering champion to drive the aviation industry forward."
Flying taxis known as Vertical Take-off and Landing aircraft (eVOTLs) are gaining traction across the globe as a flurry of companies enter the race to create low-emission travel over short distances.
Designed to accommodate only a few passengers, the aircraft are ideal for wealthy commuters in congested urban areas or people planning a weekend getaway.
Similar to an electrified helicopter, the planes take off and land vertically but they are quiet, agile and emission-free as they use small electric rotors.
Mr Fitzpatrick's VA-X4 aircraft can travel up to 160 kilometres and will produce zero emissions "at low cost per passenger mile", a major boon for the airline industry, which is under pressure over carbon emissions.
The popularity of Spacs is helping to propel the budding sector on to the world stage, with Vertical Aerospace going public through a reverse merger with Broadstone Acquisition, co-founded by fellow Briton, Pizza Express entrepreneur Hugh Osmond.
The deal will value the combined companies’ equity at about $2.2bn and raise $394 million to hire new staff and build manufacturing plants.
“Vertical has a clear commercial plan to challenge short-haul air travel and to create new markets where neither cars nor public transport can cope with demand,” Mr Osmond said.
He commended the company’s “clear business model to achieve commercialisation and significant growth”, with Vertical Aerospace claiming it can reach profit and cash flow break-even with sales of fewer than 100 aircraft.
The Spac raised money through a private placement from investors including 40 North, an affiliate of Microsoft, American Airlines, Avolon, Rolls-Royce Holdings and Honeywell International.
Mr Fitzpatrick said the deal brought together “some of the largest and most respected technology and aeronautical businesses in the world” who together could help the VA-X4 become “the first zero-carbon aircraft that most people will fly on”.
Vertical Aerospace said it already had about 1,000 orders, worth $4bn, with American Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Avolon investing in the company and booking aircraft.
While American agreed to buy 250 aircraft, subject to conditions, aircraft lessor Avolon booked 310 aircraft with an option to acquire another 190.
Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic signed an option to place orders of the aircraft with plans to fly passengers into major British airports such as Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester.
The airline said passengers could see a 90km journey from Cambridge to Heathrow, for example, reduced to just 22 minutes.
With the aviation sector meeting resistance to longer trips for climate reasons as well as the effects of the pandemic, eVTOLs offer potential for a new business more tied to local movement.
“We believe that this is the beginning of the next big evolution of urban air mobility,” said Domhnal Slattery, chief executive of Avolon Holdings, which is investing $15m in Vertical Aerospace. “This is probably as significant as the jet age.”
While unmanned test flights of the VA-X4 will begin later this year, piloted versions will take place afterwards with eVTOL manufacturers looking to transition to pilotless aircraft.
Mr Fitzpatrick’s decision to opt for a US Spac listing rather than floating the company in London will be a blow to Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak’s ambitions to make the City of London a tech fundraising hub, the entrepreneur said he had no choice because the UK markets “don’t really support this kind of business at the moment”.
Mr Fitzpatrick said his model would be certified to the same standards as large commercial airliners, making it “safer than a helicopter”, with the company planning to certify it to EU Aviation Safety Agency standards, which it considers “the most stringent”.
Patrick Ky, executive director of EASA, last month said he expected commercial use of eVTOLs to begin with carrying cargo before passengers.
Unmanned flight would take at least another five years, Mr Ky said, as EASA works on a co-ordinated approach with the US Federal Aviation Administration and other international regulators.
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Third Test
Result: India won by 203 runs
Series: England lead five-match series 2-1
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Results:
6.30pm: Handicap (Turf) | US$175,000 2,410m | Winner: Bin Battuta, Christophe Soumillon (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer)
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (Dirt) | $100,000 | 1,400m | Winner: Al Hayette, Fabrice Veron, Ismail Mohammed
7.40pm: Handicap (T) | $145,000 | 1,000m | Winner: Faatinah, Jim Crowley, David Hayes
8.15pm: Dubawi Stakes Group 3 (D) | $200,000 | 1,200m | Winner: Raven’s Corner, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
8.50pm: Singspiel Stakes Group 3 (T) | $200,000 | 1,800m | Winner: Dream Castle, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor
9.25pm: Handicap (T) | $175,000 | 1,400m | Winner: Another Batt, Connor Beasley, George Scott
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
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Abu Dhabi racecard
5pm: Maiden (Purebred Arabians); Dh80,000; 1,400m.
5.30pm: Maiden (PA); Dh80,00; 1,400m.
6pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup (PA); Group 3; Dh500,000; 1,600m.
6.30pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup (Thoroughbred); Listed; Dh380,000; 1,600m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup for Private Owners Handicap (PA); Dh70,000; 1,400m.
7.30pm: Handicap (PA); Dh80,000; 1,600m
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HAEMOGLOBIN DISORDERS EXPLAINED
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last-16, second leg:
Real Madrid 1 (Asensio 70'), Ajax 4 (Ziyech 7', Neres 18', Tadic 62', Schone 72')
Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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