Flying from Japan’s Osaka station to Kansai International Airport could take just 15 minutes based on plans laid out by flying-taxi startup Joby Aviation Inc. and the country’s biggest airline. Joby and ANA Holdings Inc. will work together to bring aerial ridesharing to Japan for the first time, according to a statement on Monday. Toyota Motor Corp. will join the partnership and focus on ground-based transport. The move reflects Joby’s strategy to team up with local companies to launch its service in markets outside the US, the company said. The startup and the airline will work together on infrastructure development, pilot training, flight operations and air-traffic management. Electric-air taxis are coming closer to reality as the first wave of designs reach maturity and developers turn to the market for funding. A wave of deals with airlines and lessors in the sector over the past year means competition is heating up to ink agreements. With Japan due to host the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, the concept has been gathering momentum in the country. Similar deals have occurred in other nations, with Brazil’s Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes airline ordering flying taxis from British company Vertical Aerospace Group. California-based Joby is developing a five-seater aircraft with a maximum range of 241 km and a top speed of 200 mph. The startup targets producing its first aircraft this year, with entry into service slated for 2024. <br/>
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The Tata Group has appointed IIker Ayci, former chairman of Turkish Airlines, as the chief executive officer and managing director of Air India, the debt-laden national carrier that it took over from the government last month. Ayci, slated to take charge on April 1, will face the stark challenge of turning around an airline that has been kept afloat by taxpayer money. "I am delighted and honored to accept the privilege of leading an iconic airline and to join the Tata Group," Ayci said Monday. "Working closely with my colleagues at Air India and the leadership of the Tata Group, we will utilize the strong heritage of Air India to make it one of the best airlines in the world with a uniquely superior flying experience that reflects Indian warmth and hospitality." Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, said Ayci would "lead Air India into a new era." "Ilker is an aviation industry leader who led Turkish Airlines to its current success during his tenure there," Chandrasekaran said in a statement. "We are delighted to welcome Ilker to the Tata Group." Having overseen a fleet of some 350 airplanes for Turkish Airlines, Ayci is well positioned "to run an airline with a fleet half that size," according to Ugur Cebeci, a leading aviation writer in Turkey. "[Ayci] managed to keep his entire staff intact during the pandemic and made no job cuts, instead cutting salaries and successfully boosting cargo revenues," he said. "I am sure he can cut a substantial part of the loss and turn Air India into a profitable business." Cebeci believed Ayci's experience outside the airline industry running an insurance company would give him a unique advantage in navigating Air India's future. "As an insurer, he is a man accustomed to calculating risks, and it's likely that when he headed Turkey's Investment Support and Promotion Agency he had contacts with Tata," Cebeci said.<br/>
Airbus sales chief Christian Scherer believes Singapore Airlines’ endorsement of the A350 Freighter will help the airframer capture additional sales for the new cargo variant of its widebody twin. Speaking on the eve of the Singapore air show, Scherer said it was extremely “satisfying” that SIA had tentatively selected the A350F to replace its fleet of Boeing 747-400 Freighters. “It’s a huge endorsement for us,” he says, “but that’s just the beginning.” SIA in December signed a letter of intent for seven units of the A350F. Scherer says the market is “very excited” about the new freighter, deliveries of which are due to commence in 2025. Changes to the global freight market since the onset of the pandemic have seen logistics firms and forwarders investing in dedicated cargo aircraft, partly in response to the reduction of belly-hold capacity from fewer long-haul passenger flights. Nonetheless, Scherer believes “that tendency will remain” in the longer term, even as international passenger travel recovers.<br/>