Welcome to Go Above Traffic.

The eVTOL newsletter that has you feeling better than closing your laptop on a Friday afternoon.

Onwards!

What you need to know in eVTOLs this week

Odys Aviation

There is a new player in town and they’re making waves in the South Pacific.

Odys Aviation, based in Long Beach CA, just received a signed letter of intent from Fiji Airways for up to 25 hybrid eVTOL cargo aircrafts.

A pilot program using these aircraft is slotted for 2025 to help connect all of Fiji’s 330 islands.

Odys hybrid eVTOL can carry cargo up to 400 miles.

It’s a meaningful distance.

This partnership could establish new emergency medical routes in the South Pacific which is notoriously are inaccessible.

AMSL Aero

They’re doing some exciting things down under.

Sydney based AMSL Aero has landed its first partnership in New Zealand.

They will work with aeromedical organization Life Flight New Zealand to support future use of its eVTOL in the country.

The eVTOL will have a range of up to 1,000 kilometers when powered by hydrogen, hovered for the first time last year and will undergo its first test flight in 2025.

Its first commercial flights are planned for 2027.

Vela Alpha

Indonesia is easy to overlook.

It’s not one of the BRICS. It’s not a major hub outside the region. It’s well behind Singapore in just about every metric.

But there are a few thing it has going for that makes it an interesting market for eVTOLs- 280M people and a growing economy.

Vela is the local eVTOL player that is still in its infancy, but are hoping to own the market. Eventually they will have to fight off foreign players trying to strong arm their way into the country.

120 Letters of Intent have been signed but Vela is a long way off from being able to fulfill orders.

They’re just now building the first prototype they hope to fly in 2025.

Joby Aviation

Joby is starting their marketing for the 2028 Olympics in LA pretty early.

They hosted an all day event at the Grove, a popular outdoor mall in LA, where people get an up-close look at the eVTOL.

The goal is to have the air taxi service up and running by the Olympics. The big hurdls are fierce competition and FAA certification. Based on the response from folks at the Grove, getting people to use th service when it’s available wont be an issue.

No surprise there. Especially if you’ve ever sat on 405 Freeway inching along for hours.

Vertical Aerospace

This entire article is worth a read if you want to maintain a fair and balanced perspective on the potential success of eVTOLs.

But here are the highlights:

• 64% of UK public haven’t heard of ‘flying taxis’

• Of those who’ve heard: 30% ‘not at all likely’ to use

• Money Was the biggest concern

• Safety was second

As much as I want to say the Brits are luddites and dinosaurs, I’ll give them a pass. I trust they’ll come to their senses when they have an option of an affordable 7 minute flight to Gatwick vs an hour train ride.

The Markets

Or “The Casino” if you prefer the Wall Street Bets mentality…

Vertical Aerospace is fresh on a 10-1 reverse split… and is still down this week.

X-Peng is up a bit, but that has much more to do with their electric vehicle than with their eVTOLs.

We’re still in the calm before the storm.

The tide will go out in in 2025/2026 and we’ll see which eVTOL companies are swimming naked.

Bet on the ones that aren’t.

The $100K Life Savings Bet

“We need unusual individuals to lead companies beyond mere incrementalism.”

-Peter Thiel

Peter Thiel needs no introduction.

He’s a member of the PayPal Mafia, put the first money into Facebook and co-founded Palantir.

Safe to say he knows a thing or two about spotting individuals who are leading companies beyond incrementalism.

He’s not investing in the guy building software that improves e-commerce checkout’s by 2%.

So the question is - Does JoeBen Bevirt pass the test?

Is he the kind of guy that is going to built Joby into a $100B+ company?

My bet is yes. JoeBen has just enough Elon Musk vibes to make Joby a juggernaut.

So are we in the money?!

Nope.

Down about $2K, but not sweating it at all.

We’ll hold the line around this price for a while.

Someone once said the best thing you can do in investing is “nothing absolutely nothing.”

That’s exactly what we’re gping to do. Out bet has been made. Now we do nothing.

Lighten Up

Final Question

What non aviation company would be the best sponsor/partner for an eVTOL company? And Why?

— best reply gets a shoutout next week.

Best Answer From Last Week

I asked, “Are you getting in an eVTOL with no pilot before you get in one with a pilot?”

Best reply came from Lucas in Ohio.

“Absolutely not. I want to see a pilot at least pretending to do something while auto-pilot is flying the plane.”

Thanks for reading and let us know what you want to see more of next week. We read every single reply.

Stay above.

— The Above Traffic Team