Indonesian startup Prestige Aviation (Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) (Prestisius Aviasi Indonesia) has pre-ordered 100 EHang 216 unmanned flying taxis from China's EHang (Guangzhou), the autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) manufacturer.

A signing ceremony was held at the 2022 Indonesia International Motor Show on April 9, 2022, coinciding with flight demonstrations where the vehicles were remotely controlled from China, according to a slew of local news reports.

Prestige Aviation Executive Chairman Rudy Salim said the company was still finalising its certification. The 100 units would be phased in over two years. "The arrival of these 100 units will be gradual. At this time, we are processing a permit or certification test which should be issued in the near future and then we will bring it in in stages," he was quoted by Tribun News. "Our pilots are still in the training stage, so all EHang 216s are controlled from ground control in China," he added.

According to an EHang company statement, the EHang 216 AAV completed its debut flight demonstration in Bali, Indonesia, on November 29, 2021, in terms of EHang's cooperation with Prestige Aviation a subsidiary of Prestige Corp. The multi-industry holding company has ventures in real estate, the food industry, lifestyle, information technology, and for the most part, the automotive industry, according to the Prestige Corp website.

Before the flight demo, the Indonesian civil aviation authority (Direktorat Jenderal Perhubungan Udara - DJPU) issued a special airworthiness certificate for the EHang 216 AAV, making it Indonesia's first passenger-grade AAV approved for a public unmanned flight demo, EHang said.

At the time, Salim, who is also the founder and group chief executive officer of Prestige Corp., said: "Prestige Aviation aspires to be the pioneer to provide smart city innovations with digital-based transport implementation. As an AAV, EHang 216 can become an effective, affordable mobility and efficient solution for Indonesian air mobility."

Meanwhile, another Indonesian startup, RGA-Black Stone Airlines (MI, Majalengka Kertajati International), has purchased one EHang 216 to support its growing cargo business and may add more according to its need, reported Tribun News.

Blackstone Cargo Airlines Group Chief Executive Officer Marco Isaak said: "With its very low charging cost and long flight capability, we are very optimistic that this Ehang can be relied on for air freight cargo," he added." We are very interested in the innovation of autonomous air vehicles as a mode of delivery of goods, while our initial flight route will open the Jakarta route to Majalengka Kertajati International. From this route, we will develop it to various other areas," Isaak said.

The cargo specialist operated its first revenue flight from Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta on March 30, 2022, using its first B737-300(SF) with plans for a second unit of the type to follow soon from sister carrier Asia Cargo Airlines (GM, Jakarta Halim).

EHang Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Hu Huazhi, in a statement in November, said: "We are pleased to join hands with local Indonesian partners to bring our leading AAVs and UAM solutions to Indonesia, one of the most promising UAM markets in Southeast Asia. Our global network of renowned and reliable partners continues to expand, and we believe this is a significant step for our sustainable, consistent success. We look forward to long-term business development prospects in Indonesia."