Volant Wins $1.75B eVTOL Order with Thailand’s Pan Pacific
Pan Pacific will operate the VE25-100 for short-distance transport and emergency rescue in Thailand, the Maldives, and nearby regions.
Before we dive into today’s story, don’t miss my latest article for Aviation Week — Volant Advances VE25-100 Certification and Production.
Now, let’s get into it.
Volant Aerotech has announced a tripartite cooperation agreement with Thailand’s Pan Pacific Co., Ltd. and China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Corporation (CATIC-ENG) that includes the purchase of 500 VE25-100 eVTOL aircraft.
The agreement was signed on July 23 at the First International Advanced Air Mobility Expo, which is taking place in Shanghai from July 23 to 26.
Under the deal, Pan Pacific will purchase 500 VE25-100 eVTOL aircraft from Volant to support short-range inter-island and intra-island passenger transport as well as emergency rescue operations across Thailand, the Maldives, and neighboring areas.
CATIC-ENG, a subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), will provide low-altitude infrastructure support and facilitate collaboration between Pan Pacific and Volant in countries along the “Belt and Road” initiative.
Valued at approximately $1.75 billion, the order is reportedly the largest international eVTOL purchase by a Chinese manufacturer to date.
According to Volant, Pan Pacific, headquartered in Bangkok, has nearly 40 years of experience in infrastructure and aviation logistics projects across the Asia-Pacific region.
The company has managed over 30 international projects spanning high-end commerce, luxury real estate, energy, and large-scale infrastructure, with a focus on Belt and Road countries.
Pan Pacific also integrates aviation infrastructure with real estate to develop “hub economy” models, highlighted by its creation of the Southern Maldives International Airport — reportedly the world’s largest water airport complex.
For its part, CATIC-ENG specializes in aviation infrastructure construction and civil engineering, including roads, bridges, and water conservancy projects. It has contributed to airport developments in Africa and South Asia, including expansions in Angola, Kenya, and Sri Lanka.
中国航空工业集团早在2017年就提出了‘空中丝路’的国际合作项目，旨在通过民用航空器出口和适航，机场建设、航空运输网络布局等领域的合作，来推动沿线国家的航空产业协同发展。沃兰特天行在飞控、航电、BMS等核心维度上，通过自主研发设计已形成了领先行业的独特技术优势，本次签约也表明了中国eVTOL在国际市场上领先的研发进展和卓越的产品竞争力，所以我们希望通过本次签约，与沃兰特一起推进中国eVTOL生态走向国际一流。— Gao Lei, Deputy General Manager of CATIC-ENG
As early as 2017, AVIC proposed the 'Air Silk Road' international cooperation project, aiming to promote the coordinated development of the aviation industry in countries along the route through cooperation in areas such as civil aircraft export and airworthiness, airport construction, and air transport network layout. Volant's 天行 [VE25-100] has formed unique technological advantages leading the industry through independent R&D and design in core dimensions such as flight control, avionics, and BMS. This signing also demonstrates the leading R&D progress and outstanding product competitiveness of Chinese eVTOLs in the international market. Therefore, we hope that through this signing, we can work with Volant to advance the Chinese eVTOL ecosystem towards international first-class standards — Gao Lei, Deputy General Manager of CATIC-ENG
By leveraging Pan Pacific’s aviation presence in Thailand and the Maldives to support commercialization, along with CATIC-ENG’s experience in infrastructure construction for vertiports and maintenance facilities, the partnership aims to build a strong foundation for overseas deployment, sustainable growth, and international expansion of China’s eVTOL ecosystem, said Huang Xiaofei, Partner and Senior Vice President of Volant.