Houston-based private aircraft dealer EMCJET is bringing the future of air transportation to Texas.
EMCJET has partnered with Lilium N.V. (NASDAQ: LILM), developer of the first all-electric vertical takeoff and landing jet, to bring the first eVTOLs to the U.S. market, EMCJET recently announced.
"Our base model is we buy and sell private jets, and we currently have aircraft under management," EMCJET founder and CEO Memo Montemayor said in an interview with the Business Journal. "But being into the eVTOL world, getting into the space where the future of aviation is at arm's length. ... It's huge."
EMCJET has secured five production slots for the first U.S. Lilium Pioneer Edition Jet – a fully electric aircraft that offers leading capacity, low noise, and high performance with zero operating emissions, EMCJET wrote in Wednesday's release.
The company is set to be the exclusive Lilium dealer in Texas through 2030 for private sales.
A deal with Lilium has been in the works since 2016, said Montemayor. "(Lilium) is one of the leaders in their market," he said. "They have great investors behind it, big names. So, it was a rigorous process to try to get this done."
The Lilium Pioneer Edition Jet, which seats four passengers and a pilot, has an expected range of 110 miles and can travel speeds of up to 150 mph, according to Lilium. Unique features of the aircraft include panoramic views, a ceiling dome that creates a "personal sky," an ultra-long cabin with a flexible seat layout, adaptive mood lighting and an in-aircraft bar.
Since announcing the partnership, EMCJET has already secured three commitments for the jet, starting at $7.5 million. EMCJET's initial sales focus will be on key cities in Texas, with plans to build a national sales pipeline.
"We want to start in Texas because it's a big state. There's a lot of synergies here with big companies, and I think this is a perfect place to start a project like this," Montemayor said.
EMCJET will primarily target hospitals, oil companies, airlines and owners of private aircraft as customers, Montemayor said, adding that he expects it won't be a hard sell in any market.
"I honestly believe that when people actually see it for the first time, it (will) sell itself," he said.
One of the first customers in line for the Lilium Pioneer Edition Jet is likely to be Port San Antonio, which in June announced that its Port expansion plans would include the development of infrastructure that could potentially support electric vertical take-off and landing.
"We really believe that the eVTOLs will be a significant part of where we're going," President and CEO Jim Perschbach said in a June interview with the Journal.
While the Lilium Pioneer Edition Jet has already passed through regulatory hurdles in Europe, it remains to be seen whether the aircraft will be approved for use by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Pending FAA approval, the first Lilium Pioneer Edition Jet is expected to take flight in 2025.
"The Lilium regulatory team is working on that, but it's just right around the corner," Montemayor asserted. "It's going to happen, just like the other eVTOL companies – they're all in line to be approved. It's just a matter of time, but it will happen."
EMCJET is a full-service aircraft brokerage and management company, specializing in buying, selling, trading and managing aircrafts internationally. The company has sold over 300 private aircrafts and completed over $2.5 billion in transactions to date, according to its website.
