• Extremely strong demand for GTF engines – more than 10,000 customer orders and commitments.
• Overall engine durability is better than V2500 at the same point in the engine’s lifecycle and Pratt & Whitney continues to invest to drive higher time on wing for customers.
• Aftermarket capacity is in place today to support the GTF fleet. More engines are being returned to service than are being removed for maintenance and as a result, Pratt & Whitney sees aircraft on ground (AOG) rates coming down through the end of 2023.
• Making progress to address persistent industry-wide supply chain constraints. For example, casting production is up by more than 40% year to date.
• GTF Advantage will be certified in mid-2024, achieving mature levels of durability at entry into service, especially in hot and harsh environments, with enhancements across the hot section of the engine.

“The GTF engine is a once-in-a-generation program that has shaped the future of sustainable aviation – delivering up to 20% less fuel and CO₂ per trip and up to 25% per seat,” said Matt Teicholz, vice president of engineering for GTF engine programs at Pratt & Whitney. “Our operators know that the GTF is the most fuel-efficient and sustainable engine for single-aisle aircraft. Make no mistake – the geared fan is the architecture of today and tomorrow.”

With over 10,000 engine orders and commitments booked to date across three aircraft families, there is strong demand for GTF-powered aircraft, with demand for 30,000 single-aisle aircraft forecasted over the next 20 years.

Since the GTF engine first entered service, it has delivered on fuel efficiency, emissions and noise footprint, and Pratt & Whitney has continued to introduce improvements to increase reliability and durability. The company has met the target level for dispatch reliability – or the ability to depart on-time for a scheduled flight – which is now at a mature engine level of 99.96%.

With respect to durability, Pratt & Whitney has improved time on wing – or how long engines can be operated before needing to be removed for maintenance – since program inception.

“To meet our customers’ expectations, we need to be able produce highly efficient, reliable engines that are also highly durable, with long time on wing between shop visits,” said Rick Deurloo, president of Commercial Engines at Pratt & Whitney. “However, this metric is not yet at the level we expect, which has put stress on the operations of the fleet.”

Like other programs, time on wing varies depending on mission and operating environment. Approximately 75 percent of the fleet is operating in cooler environments and these customers are experiencing time on wing that the company expected at this point in the program. In fact, the GTF time on wing compares favorably to the V2500 eight years into its life cycle. However, operators in hotter, sandier environments are seeing shortened intervals and lower time on wing than expected.

In addition, industry-wide supply chain pressures have affected material availability, which has led to increased turnaround times in maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) shops. In total, approximately 10% of the GTF-powered fleet is currently out of service, awaiting an engine. Pratt & Whitney recognizes the impact to customers, and its global team is working around the clock to address these  challenges. The company is balancing both growing production rates and higher utilization as the supply base recovers and is making strong progress. For example, casting production is up over 40% year to date.

To address time on wing, Pratt & Whitney has introduced several durability upgrades, with the latest- configuration Block D hardware having been deployed in 60% of the fleet – a number that will increase to more than 90% over the next two to three years. This latest build standard alleviates removal drivers with longer-life parts, including life limited parts (LLPs) like integrally bladed rotors (IBRs), a more durable combustor, and improvements to oil seals and turbine airfoils. All told, the Block D time on wing is double the prior configuration.

“The maturity progression we’ve planned for the GTF is comparable to our track record on the V2500 engine,” said Teicholz. “We have more design enhancements ahead in 2024 and 2025 to further improve durability, including improved turbine and combustor hole drilling techniques and modified cooling hole patterns.”

Expanding shop capacity

Pratt & Whitney’s network of MRO facilities will play a critical role in the incorporation of this new hardware.

When it comes to turnaround times for GTF engine overhauls, “recovery will take time, but we have been increasing output throughout this year, establishing higher levels of shipments from our MRO network each month. In May we output more engines from MRO than our customers removed for servicing,” said Deurloo. As a result, Pratt & Whitney sees AOG rates coming down through the end of 2023.

To support the growing fleet, Pratt & Whitney is expanding GTF MRO capacity globally – within its own shops and with network partners – to handle increasing aftermarket demand, as well as hiring hundreds of new employees and inserting new technologies to increase operational efficiency.

“We are focused on growing GTF engine aftermarket output by increasing material availability and expanding global capacity across the GTF engine MRO network,” said Deurloo.

 

Since 2019, the GTF engine MRO network has more than doubled in size, and now has 12 active locations around the world with an additional seven expected to be online by 2025. Already in 2023, Delta TechOps and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Aero Engines Ltd. celebrated facility expansions. The network also achieved first GTF engine inductions for the A320neo family (PW1100G-JM) at MHIAEL in Japan and Ameco in China, for the A220 (PW1500G) at Delta TechOps and for E-Jets E2 (PW1900G) at EME Aero in Poland.

GTF Advantage engine: more efficient, powerful and durable

The next evolution of the powerplant – the Pratt & Whitney GTF Advantage™ engine – will deliver higher thrust, improved fuel efficiency and lower carbon emissions for the Airbus A320neo family, supporting the industry’s goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The GTF Advantage engine lowers fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions by up to 1% compared to the current model GTF engine and is compatible with 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

“GTF engines already offer the lowest fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions for single-aisle aircraft,” said Deurloo. “The GTF Advantage engine extends that lead and enhances aircraft capability, providing more thrust and even more value to operators of A320neo family aircraft, especially on longer-range aircraft. Getting the time on wing where it needs to be is critical to achieving the engine’s full potential.”

“The GTF Advantage engine is fundamentally a more durable configuration, thanks in part to aerodynamic improvements and increased airflow through the low-pressure compressor,” said Teicholz. “We’ve designed the GTF Advantage engine to run cooler while delivering higher takeoff thrust. We’re now bolstering our commitment to improve durability, especially in hot and harsh environments, with enhancements across the hot section of the engine.”

The GTF Advantage engine certification and flight test program has accumulated more than 3,000 hours and nearly 9,000 cycles to date, and benefits from over 100,000 hours of engine and rig testing across all GTF programs. The test program includes extensive endurance testing to advance product maturity at entry into service, including dirt ingestion testing to simulate harsh environments.

To further enhance durability, advanced technologies to address hot section distress seen in the field are being incorporated. In the high-pressure turbine (HPT), the enhancements will include an advanced airfoil design with improved coatings. The HPT and combustor will also feature optimized cooling hole size, shape and location, with improved hole drilling techniques to reduce oxidation. The company expects FAR33 certification in mid-2024, which allows time for the incorporation of this latest hardware to achieve mature levels of durability at entry into service.

Learning from the past and looking toward the future

As Pratt & Whitney works to extend time on wing, the geared fan remains core to its technology roadmap. The company is developing the technologies that will extend the potential of the geared architecture, including advanced materials, higher bypass ratios, hybrid-electric systems and the use of more sustainable fuels. Pratt & Whitney recently completed the first engine run of its regional hybrid-electric flight demonstrator, committed to a U.S. Department of Energy program to develop hydrogen-fueled propulsion technology, and announced a collaboration with Airbus, MTU Aero Engines, Collins Aerospace and GKN Aerospace to demonstrate a hybrid-electric geared turbofan with a waste heat recovery system.

Pratt & Whitney is gaining invaluable experience with the geared fan architecture, with 23 million engine flight hours to date, anticipated to grow to hundreds of millions of hours by the time the next generation of geared engines enters service. With the GTF engine a generation ahead and GTF Advantage extending its lead as the most efficient and environmentally friendly powerplant for single-aisle aircraft, the company is well-positioned to lead in ever-more sustainable propulsion in the decades ahead.

Source: Pratt & Whitney

MONDAY, 19 JUNE 2023

New Rolls-Royce small engine set to begin tests to advance hybrid-electric flight

Rolls-Royce (LSE: RR., ADR: RYCEY) today announces its new small gas turbine that has been specifically developed to power hybrid-electric flight is set to begin testing. The engine is part of a turbogenerator system that is being developed for the Advanced Air Mobility market. This includes electrical vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) Aircraft for Urban Air Mobility and Commuter Aircraft applications up to 19 seats.

The turbogenerator system will complement the Rolls-Royce Electrical propulsion portfolio by delivering an on-board power source with scalable power offerings between 500kW and 1200kW enabling extended range on sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and later, as it becomes available, through hydrogen combustion. This will open up new, longer routes than electric battery powered aircraft can support as of today.

Olaf Otto, President – Electrical, said: “Rolls-Royce will be the leading provider of all-electric and hybrid-electric power and propulsion systems for Advanced Air Mobility. The Pass-To-Test (PTT) of our brand-new small engine that will power our turbogenerator system is an important step forward. This product will enable our customers to extend the routes that electric flight can support and means more passengers will be able to travel further on low to net zero emissions aircraft.”

The development of the turbogenerator system is combining Rolls-Royce’s electrical and gas turbine development competencies. The new combustion engine uses recent technology developments to achieve a step change in efficiency of small gas turbines. The turbogenerator can be used in serial or parallel hybrid applications. It is well suited to recharge batteries as well as provide energy to electrical propulsion units directly and therefore enables aircraft to switch between power sources in flight. The research and development of this technology is being partially funded by the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.

This engine will be tested on SAF in the coming months and will be used for the commissioning of Rolls-Royce’s test facility in Dahlewitz. The Rolls-Royce Power Gearbox test facility has been modified to accommodate testing of the new engine, and to confirm the engine’s technical attributes.

Rolls-Royce is developing complete power and propulsion systems for all-electric and hybrid-electric applications. Our systems under design feature the latest technology, from power generation and energy storage via power electronics and control systems to electric motors.

Ends

Source: Rolls-Royce

PARIS, June 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — PARIS AIR SHOW — Pratt & Whitney and Virginia Tech today announced a pioneering new technology for calculating thrust using lasers to enable high fidelity measurement of key gas turbine engine parameters including velocity, temperature, and density. Known as Filtered Rayleigh Scattering for Thrust measurement (FRST), this new optical instrumentation technique offers significant advantages compared to traditional sensors and probes, which will support the development of more efficient engine core technologies and could enable the measurement of non-CO₂ particulate emissions in flight.

“The ability to use lasers and optical sensors represents a major step forward in engine instrumentation technology and is testament to the longstanding collaboration within the Pratt & Whitney Center of Excellence at Virginia Tech,” said Geoff Hunt, senior vice president, engineering and technology, Pratt & Whitney. “FRST provides a less intrusive and more cost-effective method for measuring a range of engine metrics. We see exciting potential for FRST to help advance gas turbine propulsion technologies, particularly involving smaller and more thermally efficient engine cores, which are key to our next generation military and sustainable commercial engines.”

A patent-pending technology, FRST makes use of the ultraviolet light spectrum and relies on the principle that light scattering back from air molecules passing over a laser-illuminated area can provide information about the gas flow field, from which thrust can be derived. Applied to a turbofan engine, the light is provided by a laser beam directed across the turbine’s gas path, while the resulting scatter is recorded by a high-performance camera and “filtered” for corruptions in the signal.

FRST optical instrumentation potentially eliminates the need for traditional sensors and probes, which can be difficult to install and cause flow blockage, particularly on smaller engine cores where space is limited. FRST also presents opportunities to measure non-CO₂ particulate emissions, which could contribute to industry wide efforts to understand and mitigate the environmental impact of those emissions, particularly with regard to contrail formation.

“Though the principle of Rayleigh scattering has been known for centuries, Pratt & Whitney and Virginia Tech engineers have harnessed recent advancements in computing power, laser and camera technology to demonstrate the first successful application on a turbofan engine,” said Todd Lowe, Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Virginia Tech. “As we work towards in-flight demonstrations of FRST, we expect the technology will have other applications in the development and certification of aircraft engines.”

Pratt & Whitney and Virginia Tech’s joint research team successfully measured engine thrust using FRST optical techniques on a research engine in a test stand at Virginia Tech recording similar accuracy to that of traditional sensors and probes. The teams are working towards flight testing the technology.

Pratt & Whitney and Virginia Tech have a long-standing collaboration in propulsion technology development, with a focus on advanced instrumentation. The collaboration enables multiple graduate level projects and internships at Virginia Tech and Pratt & Whitney.

About Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines and auxiliary power units. To learn more visit www.prattwhitney.com. To receive press releases and other news directly, please sign up here.

Pratt & Whitney
+1 (860) 565-9600
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SOURCE Raytheon Technologies

PARIS, June 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — PARIS AIR SHOW — RTX (NYSE: RTX) has achieved a critical milestone in its hybrid-electric flight demonstrator program, successfully completing a rated power test of the demonstrator’s 1 megawatt (MW) electric motor, developed by Collins Aerospace (Collins). The 1MW motor will be combined with a highly efficient thermal engine, developed by Pratt & Whitney, as part of a hybrid-electric propulsion system that aims to demonstrate a 30 percent improvement in fuel efficiency and CO₂ emissions compared to today’s most advanced regional turboprops. Collins and Pratt & Whitney are both business units of RTX.

“With its industry-leading power density and efficiency, our 1MW motor will help to significantly reduce aircraft carbon emissions by supporting hybrid-electric propulsion architectures on the next generation of commercial platforms,” said Henry Brooks, president, Power & Controls for Collins Aerospace. “As the motor’s development continues apace, each milestone brings us one step closer to hybrid-electric flight and our industry’s shared commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”

Compared to Collins’ most advanced electric motor generators flying today, the 1MW motor will deliver four times the power and twice the voltage, with half the heat loss and half the weight. The company is developing the motor at Collins’ facility in Solihull, United Kingdom, and testing it at the University of Nottingham’s Institute for Aerospace Technology.

Following on from the first low speed engine run at a Pratt & Whitney Canada facility in Longueuil, Quebec in December 2022, testing of the combined hybrid-electric propulsion system – including both thermal engine and 1MW motor – will continue through 2023. The propulsion system and batteries will be integrated on a Dash 8-100 experimental aircraft, with flight testing targeted to begin in 2024. The project is supported by the governments of Canada and Quebec.

“Hybrid-electric propulsion technology offers significant potential to optimize aircraft efficiency across a range of future aircraft applications and is a key part of our technology roadmap for supporting more sustainable aviation,” said Jean Thomassin, executive director new products and services, Pratt & Whitney Canada. “Aside from leveraging the deep expertise of Pratt & Whitney and Collins engineers within RTX, our project draws from extensive collaborations across Canada’s aerospace ecosystem and around the world.”

In addition to the hybrid-electric flight demonstrator, the 1MW motor will also be part of the Pratt & Whitney GTF™ hybrid-electric powertrain planned for the SWITCH project under the European Union’s Clean Aviation initiative. Future testing will be conducted at The Grid, the $50 million electric power systems lab at Collins’ Rockford, Illinois, facility slated to open later this year.

About Collins Aerospace
Collins Aerospace is a business of RTX, the largest aerospace and defense company in the world. Our global team of 73,000 employees dreams, designs and delivers smarter, more connected solutions for passenger safety and comfort, mission success, space exploration, and operational efficiency and sustainability. We make the most powerful concepts in aerospace a reality.

About Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines and auxiliary power units. To learn more visit www.prattwhitney.com. To receive press releases and other news directly, please sign up here.

About RTX
RTX is the world’s largest aerospace and defense company. Our global team of 180,000 employees pushes the limits of known science and redefines how we connect and protect our world. We are advancing aviation, building smarter defense systems and creating innovations to take us deeper into space. Effective July 1, the company will complete its realignment into three customer-focused business units — Collins Aerospace, Raytheon and Pratt & Whitney. The company, with 2022 sales of $67 billion, is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.

Media Queries
Collins Aerospace
Al Killeffer
+1 980-322-5087
alexander.killeffer@collins.com

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Mads Neumann
+44 (0)744 757 7468
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SOURCE Raytheon Technologies

PARIS, June 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — PARIS AIR SHOW — Pratt & Whitney, an RTX business, announced today that United Airlines (“United”) has selected the GTF engine to power 70 Airbus A321neo and 50 A321XLR firm aircraft orders, the first of which is expected to be delivered this year.

United and Pratt & Whitney began their relationship more than 90 years ago as part of United Aircraft and Transport Corporation, together with Boeing, flying Boeing Model 40 aircraft with a single Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine. Today Pratt & Whitney powers more than 250 United aircraft, including the Airbus A320ceo family with V2500® engines and the Boeing 777 and 767 aircraft with PW4000 engines.

“United and Pratt & Whitney share a celebrated history as pioneers of commercial air travel, as well as a commitment to more sustainable aviation as we look forward,” said Rick Deurloo, president of Commercial Engines at Pratt & Whitney. “GTF engines will enable United to get the most out of their A321neo and A321XLR aircraft, delivering industry leading payload, range and environmental performance for those aircraft types.”

About GTF Engines

The Pratt & Whitney GTF engine, featuring Collins Aerospace nacelle and engine accessories, offers the greatest fuel efficiency and lowest greenhouse gas emissions for the Airbus A320neo family. GTF-powered aircraft reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 16% to 20%, NOx emissions up to 50% and noise footprint up to 75%.* Certified for operation on 50% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and successfully tested on 100% SAF, GTF engines are ready to enable further reductions in carbon footprint, which will help the aviation industry meet its goal of net zero emissions by 2050. The engine’s revolutionary geared fan architecture is the foundation for even more efficient and sustainable propulsion technologies in the decades ahead, with advancements like the Pratt & Whitney GTF Advantage™ engine and beyond. Learn more at pwgtf.com.

*Reductions vs. prior-generation aircraft, based on 75 dB noise contour and ICAO CAEP/6 emissions regulations.

About Pratt & Whitney 

Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines and auxiliary power units. To learn more visit www.prattwhitney.com. To receive press releases and other news directly, please sign up here.

About RTX

RTX is the world’s largest aerospace and defense company. Our global team of 180,000 employees pushes the limits of known science and redefines how we connect and protect our world. We are advancing aviation, building smarter defense systems and creating innovations to take us deeper into space. Effective July 1, the company will complete its realignment into three customer-focused business units — Collins Aerospace, Raytheon and Pratt & Whitney. The company, with 2022 sales of $67 billion, is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.

media@prattwhitney.com
+1 860 565 9600

 

SOURCE Raytheon Technologies

SITA has unveiled its most advanced intelligence and targeting offering yet, providing the backbone for dynamic and integrated border management, helping governments identify and manage risks long before they reach their land, sea, and air borders.

Today governments face the arduous task of balancing the benefits of surging international travel that is close to pre-pandemic levels with increased security and health threats. A key challenge is having the correct information well in advance of travel to make informed decisions on who can cross their border before they pose a threat.

SITA Intelligence and Targeting uses advanced risk assessment methods and artificial intelligence to significantly reduce the time needed to extract strategic risk analysis and operational situational awareness across multiple data streams, providing valuable intelligence to act before high-risk individuals arrive in the country.

SITA’s solution is designed around a four-phase intelligence methodology – acquire, augment, analyze, action – that maps directly to government customers’ operational environments. The methodology is founded on the premise that intelligence must be actionable while frontline operations must be able to report on outcomes, improve data quality, and update intelligence sources to deliver greater accuracy in future operations.

Jeremy Springall, SVP, SITA AT BORDERS, said: “One of the most valuable lessons we learned from the COVID-19 pandemic was the importance of border agencies having the right tools to reconfigure policy rules to address ever-changing threats quickly. These threats change on a daily, sometimes even hourly, basis. As a result, government agencies need far greater flexibility and control. This is exactly what we have delivered with the vastly enhanced SITA Intelligence and Targeting, creating a pre-screening capability to support our government customers’ direct targeting operations and drive down risk as early and as far from the border as possible.”

Using Intelligence and Targeting, border agencies can dynamically reconfigure rules and profiles to incorporate new intelligence and respond to new – and constantly changing – threats. Governments can now identify and respond to threats far more quickly, and pre-clear travelers in real time.

Over the past 25 years, SITA has invested in building a specialist business unit to support the unique and complex challenges of its 70+ government customers responsible for their country’s border security.

Source: SITA

EAST HARTFORD, Conn., June 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — International Aero Engines AG (IAE), a multinational consortium comprised of shareholders including Raytheon Technologies’ business Pratt & Whitney, Pratt & Whitney Aero Engines International GmbH, Japanese Aero Engines Corporation and MTU Aero Engines, today named Kim Kinsley as its president. She succeeds Earl Exum, who held the position since 2020.

Exum will become chair of the IAE AG board of directors and continue serving in his role as vice president, Mature Commercial Engines at Pratt & Whitney, a position he has held since October 2022, developing strategies and execution to support customers, optimize product life and maximize value realized from Pratt & Whitney’s mature engines portfolio.

Kinsley, IAE’s first female president, has concurrently been named vice president, V2500 programs at Pratt & Whitney. She will assume both roles effective immediately and report to Exum.

“Kim is uniquely positioned to take IAE forward,” said Exum. “The V2500 engine has seen many great successes over IAE’s 40-year history, and we are confident Kim will build on that legacy as we look to the future. Kim has a wealth of experience from within and outside the aerospace industry and will ensure we continue to deliver the proven performance our customers have come to expect.”

As president, Kinsley will lead the integrated program structure to support the continuous improvement of Pratt & Whitney’s V2500 program, positioning the joint venture partners to best serve customers with more flexible offerings to the narrowbody segment. She will exercise leadership to ensure financial, business, technical, customer and partner commitments are achieved.

IAE, which celebrated its 40^th anniversary in March, has a collaboration agreement extension to 2045. The versatile V2500 powers nearly 3,500 aircraft today for approximately 150 commercial, cargo and military operators in 80 countries. Seventy percent of these aircraft are under 15 years old and about one-third of the V2500 engines are still on first run. The V2500 powered the first Airbus A321 and A320 passenger-to-freighter conversions, with more slated to enter service in the coming years. The engine also powers the Embraer KC-390 military aircraft and its growing customer base. The efficiency of the V2500, which is approved for operation on 50% sustainable aviation fuel, will also help the aviation industry meet its goal of net-zero CO₂ emissions by 2050.

Kinsley joins Pratt & Whitney from Collins Aerospace, where she worked since 2014 and most recently served as vice president, Environmental & Airframe Control Systems – Power & Controls. She has more than 25 years of experience in operations, business management, engineering and new product development across diverse industries. Kinsley is a proven leader with capabilities in building teams, improving organizational collaboration, strengthening customer relationships and achieving business objectives.

About Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines and auxiliary power units. To learn more visit www.prattwhitney.com. To receive press releases and other news directly, please sign up here.

About Raytheon Technologies
Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX) is the world’s largest aerospace and defense company. Our global team of 180,000 employees pushes the limits of known science and redefines how we connect and protect our world. We are advancing aviation, building smarter defense systems and creating innovations to take us deeper into space. The company, with 2022 sales of $67 billion, is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.

media@prattwhitney.com
+1 860 565 9600

SOURCE: Raytheon Technologies

SITA, the leading IT provider to the air transport industry, and UrbanV, the Italian vertiport operator, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop a digital-first passenger experience for UrbanV’s vertiports in Rome due to start operations in 2024.

From UrbanV’s test vertiport at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, both parties will design, test, and refine a new passenger processing and operating ecosystem to support the first flight between Fiumicino and Rome’s city center. SITA will deploy its expertise in air transport for the emerging Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industry, developing new operating standards and a digital-first passenger experience. The partnership will leverage SITA’s portfolio, which includes a wide range of IT solutions for airport management, network connectivity, passenger, flight, and aircraft operations.

SITA and UrbanV will also closely collaborate to test and validate UrbanV’s concept of operations blueprint in Rome and evaluate potential commercial synergies worldwide for a joint go-to-market in the Advanced and Urban Air Mobility segment.

UrbanV envisions vertiports being interoperable by multiple eVTOL operators and integrated within the local aviation ecosystem, such as Fiumicino Airport. This is aligned with SITA’s vision of vertiport systems being natural peering and aggregation points with shared components and services to facilitate data exchange, providing cost efficiency and economies of scale for all AAM operators.

Carlo Tursi, UrbanV CEO, said: “UrbanV and SITA share an aviation background and an innovation mindset. This will enable us to develop an agnostic, modular, and repeatable approach to designing, building, and operating vertiports globally. Italy will be our launch country, and Rome will be one of the first cities in the world where AAM services will be available. This partnership allows us to offer a unique value proposition to be scaled globally and to accelerate the adoption of AAM services.”

Sergio Colella, SITA President for Europe, said: “We strongly believe in the development of the AAM market, getting it right from the start via vertiports that are hubs of integrated mobility. This agreement aims to shape the future travel experience at vertiports globally. Together, we will explore new standards and a digital-first passenger experience by leveraging our mutual expertise in air transport for the AAM industry. This will accelerate a safe adoption of Advanced Air Mobility in Italy and beyond.”

Source: SITA