AutoFlight has delivered its first Prosperity aircraft to a customer in Japan, marking the world’s inaugural delivery of a civilian ton-class eVTOL aircraft. The five-seater Prosperity aircraft was handed over to the customer, an Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) operator in Japan. The yet-to-be-identified operator plans to seek a special flight permit from the JCAB to use the aircraft for demonstration flights during next year’s World Expo in Osaka.
While AutoFlight’s cargo variant, the unmanned CarryAll, has been granted a type certificate by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), that authority is yet to sign off on the passenger-carrying Prosperity. It seems unlikely that the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) will grant the permit until the CAAC has signed off on the aircraft, and there is only just over a year remaining for the paperwork to be cleared up before the Expo starts next April.
Tian Yu, founder and Co-chairman of AutoFlight, said: “The official delivery of the first Prosperity to a customer signifies a new chapter for AutoFlight as we begin to ship our innovative electric aircraft to global markets. Additionally, on the cargo side, the receipt of orders for over 200 CarryAll planes already demonstrates a very strong market demand for our products.”
The recent CarryAll orders include 30 units for ZTO Express, a NYSE and HKEX dual-listed company and one of the world’s largest logistics companies.
