Singapore-based private aviation charter company Yugo has partnered with U.S. startup Electra.aero to develop an air mobility network in the Asia-Pacific region. 

The memorandum of understanding envisages Yugo acquiring up to 12 of Electra’s electric short-takeoff-and-landing (eSTOL) aircraft.

Yugo provides on-demand charter flights in helicopters and business jets ranging from Cessna Citations to the Gulfstream G650ER. Electra is developing a hybrid-electric aircraft designed to carry nine passengers up to 500 mi. with the ability to take off and land in spaces as small as 300 by 100 ft.

Under the agreement, the companies will jointly pursue urban and regional passenger and cargo markets that can be served by Yugo’s network using the aircraft’s ultra-STOL capability. Yugo also will provide input on performance, economics, passenger experience, and the design of Electra’s aircraft.

The Asia-Pacific region is a burgeoning market for advanced air mobility. Australian vertiport developer Skyportz already has selected Electra as its preferred supplier of up to 100 eSTOL aircraft to connect city centers and logistics hubs as well as deliver cargo to remote regions.

German electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) pioneer Volocopter is working with UK vertiport developer Skyports to launch air taxi service in Singapore. Volocopter expects to gain certification of its VoloCity two-seat multicopter by the end of 2023, and to launch air taxi services in 2024.

In August 2021, Singapore-based helicopter ride-share service provider Ascent Flights Global signed an agreement under which Embraer spinoff Eve Urban Air Mobility will provide the company with up to 100,000 flight hours a year on its eVTOL aircraft in cities such as Bangkok, Manila, Singapore and Tokyo.