Wisk and Japan Airlines Engineering Sign Memorandum of Understanding with The City of Kaga to Accelerate Advanced Air Mobility in Japan
PARIS & MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Wisk Aero, a leading Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company and developer of the first all-electric, self-flying air taxi in the U.S., today announced it has signed a three-party Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The City of Kaga, Ishikawa, Japan, and Japan Airlines' subsidiary, JAL Engineering Co., Ltd (JALEC). This unprecedented partnership will establish opportunities for introducing autonomous air travel in Japan.
Wisk deepen commitment to Japan with Kaga City MoU
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Building on Wisk's existing partnership with Japan Airlines (JAL) and JALEC, the new scope of the collaboration with Kaga City will focus on several key areas, namely:
Regulatory and airspace system development
Market analysis and development
Social acceptance of AAM and autonomous aviation
Supply chain support and manufacturing opportunities
Kaga City has been designated by the Japanese government as a national strategic special zone. It has also paved the way for mobility initiatives within the city by establishing the Next-Generation Air Mobility Consortium in Japan. These efforts make Kaga City an ideal location for the development, testing, and validation of autonomous air mobility.
'We are excited to deepen our commitment to Japan and further our partnership with JAL through this new collaboration with Kaga City,' said Sebastien Vigneron, CEO of Wisk. 'Japan is a key market for the introduction of AAM, and Kaga City's forward-thinking approach to future mobility, coupled with its special zone designation, provides an ideal environment for us to explore and demonstrate the benefits of our Gen 6 aircraft. This partnership is a significant step towards building the necessary ecosystem for autonomous flight in Japan.'
'This three-way partnership will play a central role in realizing autonomous AAM in Japanese society,' said Hiroki Haraikawa, Vice President of Marketing & Sales, JALEC. 'JALEC, together with Wisk and Kaga City, leverages this opportunity to demonstrate the emerging technology and build the nationwide trustworthiness about the safety of autonomous operations.'
Riku Miyamoto, Mayor of Kaga City, said, 'As the first step in Wisk's business expansion into Japan, Kaga City will strongly support the establishment of an operations base and support the construction of an AAM operation model in collaboration with JALEC. Kaga City is a local government with a population of approximately 62,000 people, but because the city has been selected as a national strategic special zone, we are able to carry out bold regulatory development in Japan. The advantage of not being a big city like Tokyo or Osaka is that there is a high degree of freedom as a research and development field, and one-stop arrangements are possible.'
About Wisk
Wisk is an Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company dedicated to creating a future for air travel that elevates people, communities, and aviation. Wisk is developing the first autonomous, passenger-carrying electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi in the U.S. Wisk is a wholly-owned Boeing subsidiary and is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with locations around the world. With over a decade of experience and over 1750+ test flights, Wisk is shaping the future of daily commutes and urban travel, safely and sustainably. Learn more about Wisk here.
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