LCI and Airbus to jointly develop AAM ecosystems

LCI and Airbus have agreed a deal to jointly develop ecosystems for advanced air mobility (AAM).

Three core areas of AAM will be addressed through partnership scenarios and business models by the collaboration: strategy, commercialisation and financing. Both partners will build market perspectives and forecasts, conduct industry research and harness data analytics to build a picture of new applications and missions.

Jaspal Jandu CEO of LCI said: “We are delighted to be forging this new partnership with Airbus. For two decades, LCI and Airbus have delivered capacity and financing solutions to airlines and operators across the globe, and we are now extending that to advanced air mobility.

“Transportation and logistical networks have a duty to be efficient, sustainable, and scalable. Both LCI and Airbus take a holistic and pragmatic view of advanced air mobility, including vehicles and also infrastructure, financing, and network adoption. By combining our respective strengths, we will incubate and accelerate an entirely new generation of aviation.”

LCI will also become a key financial partner for Airbus’ AAM projects around certain mission types such as emergency medical services. It will also explore leasing and finance solutions for CityAirbus NextGen.

Balkiz Sarihan CEO and head of Urban Air Mobility at Airbus said: “We are excited to extend our long-standing relationship with LCI, an innovative lessor that is globally unique in its positioning across the commercial fixed wing, helicopter and advanced air mobility sectors.

“LCI’s combination of operational expertise, customer networks, and financial insights, complements Airbus’ technical innovation in flight technologies, and will enable us to collectively drive the development of advanced air mobility. Together, we will take concrete steps towards the co-creation of next generation AAM ecosystems and our decarbonisation roadmap.”

Airbus finalised the assembly of its CityAirbus NextGen and powered on the vehicle at the end of 2023. In the next phase, the firm will begin a test campaign, during which it will make use of its new AAM testhouse in Donauwörth, Germany.