Jekta, which is behind the zero-emission PHA-ZE 100 amphibian, has signed with a recently established South Korean lessor for 30 aircraft.
The deal, with Seoul-based Solyu, is the first lessor agreement for Jekta, which is developing battery- and hydrogen fuel cell-powered versions of its 19-seat seaplane, the latter with fuel cell innovator ZeroAvia.
Solyu is a start-up that has preliminary orders for aircraft from other so-called advanced air mobility start-ups, including the SkyDrive SD-05 and the Eviation Alice.
“We are excited by the potential that the PHA-ZE 100 gives to our clients,” says Solyu chief executive Andrew Claerbout. “We expect strong interest from our customers in both the hydrogen and electric variants.”
Payerne, Switzerland-based Jekta maintains that it has an orderbook worth more than $1 billion less than two years after the company was established in December 2022.
Although Jekta itself is a young business, the family of founder George Alafinov has a heritage in the sector. His father was behind Aero Volga, a company that developed an eight-passenger amphibious aircraft in early post-Soviet Russia.
With construction of a manufacturing facility underway in Payerne’s Aeropole 2 aerospace cluster, Jekta is aiming for PHA-ZE 100 certification by the end of the decade.
Another provisional customer is Gayo Aviation, a Dubai-based tour operator.
The PHA-ZE 100’s ability to land on and take off from water differentiates it from other zero-emission designs such as the Alice and Heart Aerospace ES-30, Jekta says. The aircraft could open markets in communities with poor or non-existent road connections and which are best connected by waterborne aircraft.
