On October 14, at the Zigong Low-Altitude Economy Industry Development Conference, VOLANT Aerotech and Sichuan Airlines Low-Altitude officially signed a procurement agreement. Sichuan Airlines Low-Altitude will purchase 50 VE25-100 Tianxing passenger eVTOLs, including 30 letters of intent. This is a substantive implementation following the full-chain strategic cooperation agreement signed by both parties in August this year. It also signifies that the domestic passenger eVTOL sector is moving from a mere technical test flight stage to a new phase characterized by deep airline participation, forward-looking scenario planning, and collaborative construction of the industrial chain.
The commercialization of passenger eVTOLs has never been a race of single aircraft development, but a systems engineering project integrating "aircraft + airworthiness + operations + scenarios". The core judgment behind Sichuan Airlines Low-Altitude's choice of VOLANT is precisely that the VE25-100 continues to meet its R&D milestones. The first aircraft AC101 of the type certification production batch completed the country's first manned full-transition flight. The airworthiness aircraft AC102 was successfully rolled out, completing its maiden flight and unmanned full-transition flight, with airworthiness certification progressing steadily. Full-transition flight is the core technical threshold for passenger eVTOLs. This series of flight test results proves that the model already has the preliminary foundation for commercial delivery, which is also the underlying logic for airline-affiliated capital to dare to lock in the fleet in advance.
The biggest highlight of this cooperation is the formal and deep integration of traditional aviation operation forces into the eVTOL industry. Unlike the order attributes of leasing companies and local platforms, Sichuan Airlines Low-Altitude is backed by Sichuan Airlines Group, bringing mature experience in civil aviation route operation, safety management, passenger service, and airspace coordination.
The cooperation between the two parties is no longer just about "selling and buying aircraft", but involves forward-looking layout of route operations, scenario implementation, and the co-construction of a low-altitude mobility ecosystem. The industry is reaching a consensus: airworthiness certification is merely an entry ticket, while operational capability is the long-term decisive factor. Without the support of an airline's operational system, even if the aircraft is successfully certified, it will be difficult to truly run through scenarios such as low-altitude cultural tourism and short-distance commuting. This signing aims to create a benchmark demonstration for domestic passenger eVTOLs and explore a safe and orderly operational paradigm for the entire industry.
From the perspective of the overall industry, VOLANT continues to secure a matrix of confirmed orders. Its customers cover multiple entities such as Nanhang Tonghang, Yajie Aviation, Nongyin Jinzu, Beijing Yizhuang, and Zigong Guotou, and it has already received CNY 100 million in deposits. Combined with this order from Sichuan Airlines Low-Altitude, it forms a diversified customer structure of operators, leasing institutions, and local platforms. This trend reflects the changes in the domestic eVTOL sector: the market no longer only looks at paper order quantities, but values order quality and customer structure more. Orders for leading models are gradually transforming from conceptual intentions into implementation agreements that bind scenarios, capital, and operational resources.
Observing from the development cycle of the low-altitude economy, the current passenger eVTOL is in a critical window where airworthiness breakthroughs and commercialization preheating are proceeding in parallel.
The policy system is steadily improving, and the airspace management mechanism is constantly being optimized. However, there are still a large number of unsolved issues regarding type certification, operational specifications, vertiport infrastructure, and operation and maintenance systems for manned eVTOLs. The joint efforts of VOLANT and Sichuan Airlines Low-Altitude represent a typical "manufacturing + airline" collaborative model: the aircraft manufacturer focuses on technical verification and airworthiness, while the aviation operator is responsible for scenario design, route operation, and safety system construction. This upstream and downstream binding cooperation model can reduce the trial-and-error costs of commercialization and provide a replicable model for the subsequent implementation of more low-altitude routes.
Overall, this signing is not just a single procurement of 50 eVTOLs, but a landmark event in the formation of the domestic low-altitude passenger transport industry ecosystem. When airline capital deeply enters the sector, and aircraft development, airworthiness certification, route operation, and scenario development form a closed loop, it means that the "air taxi" is moving step by step from technology to a real low-altitude mobility network.