Airbus And LCI Collaborate on Developing New Business Models for Urban Air Mobility

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Airbus and LCI, a foremost aviation firm, have unveiled a partnership to jointly foster ecosystems for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). This alliance aims to cultivate partnership scenarios and business models across three principal AAM domains: strategy, commercialization, and financing.

“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,” said Balkiz Sarihan, CEO and Head of Urban Air Mobility at Airbus. “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.”

“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,” said Jaspal Jandu, CEO of LCI. “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.”

Together, both entities will work on developing market insights and forecasts for AAM, engage in industry research, and apply data analytics to uncover new applications and missions. Their efforts will contribute to the advancement of novel AAM solutions, and assess new commercial frameworks in various sectors, including fleet management, battery technology, and charging infrastructure.

LCI will play a pivotal role as a financial ally in Airbus’ AAM initiatives, focusing on specific mission categories like emergency medical services. It plans to utilize its extensive network to promote global adoption and recognition. Additionally, LCI will investigate forward-thinking leasing and financing strategies for prospective clients of the CityAirbus NextGen.

Airbus successfully completed the assembly of its CityAirbus NextGen and initiated its power systems towards the end of 2023. The forthcoming stage involves launching a test campaign for the vehicle, utilizing Airbus’ new AAM testing facility in Donauwörth, Germany. Moreover, Airbus is broadening its international alliances and network to establish a distinctive ecosystem, aimed at ensuring the AAM market’s success and sustainability.

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