Urban air mobility is becoming a reality in South Korea, where it takes a leading position in development, manufacturing and deployment. This week, South Korean manufacturer PLANA signed an LOI to supply commercial airline Hi-Air with 30 AAM aircraft.
DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby
Hybrid AAM eVTOL developer Prana Announced LOI and MOU with Korean commercial airline high air Supply 30 AAM aircraft. At LOI, PLANA will supply HiAir with CP-01 hybrid-electric AAM aircraft from 2030, with the first 10 delivered in 2031 and the remaining 20 to follow. Last year, PLANA signed LOIs with US-based Genus Air and Japan’s Sky Taxi to supply 20 and 50 aircraft respectively.
Founded in 2019, Hi-Air is a small airline license holder of South Korea’s leading small air transportation service. The company currently operates flights to Gimpo, Muan, Suncheon and Jeju. Last year, it became South Korea’s first commercial airline to carry 500,000 passengers, and recently opened a new route between Muan and Kitakyushu, Japan.
Under the MOU, PLANA and Hi-Air will partner on the joint development of AAM-based business models for passenger and freight transportation, and the two companies look forward to creating synergies through the combination of their respective areas of expertise.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Hi-Air, a major small airline in South Korea,” said Jinmo Lee, PLANA CPO. “This partnership will help us strengthen our position in the AAM market and contribute to the development of South Korea’s air mobility industry.”
“We are confident that this partnership will help pioneer a new era of air mobility in South Korea,” said Joseph Kim, CEO of Hiair. “We will combine PLANA’s technology with Hi-Air’s expertise to create a new air mobility market.”
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Ian attended Dominican University in California and graduated with a BA in English in 2019. With her lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and keen interest in technology, she now contributes to her DroneLife as a staff writer.
Miriam McNabb, editor-in-chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of professional drone services marketplace JobForDrones, is a keen observer of the emerging drone industry and drone regulatory environment. Miriam is an international speaker and industry recognized figure, with over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space. Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and he has over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing new technologies.
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