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an aw139 helicopter carrying several passengers took off from the apron of the east plaza of shenzhen north station hub and delivered the passengers to their office within 10 minutes. passengers made reservations for flights on the "air taxi" wechat applet in advance. after leaving the station, they only needed to walk for 5 minutes to reach the helicopter boarding point and take the "air taxi" to various places.

this is the first domestic "low-altitude + rail" air-rail transport project jointly launched by shenzhen metro group and shenzhen eastern general aviation co., ltd. (hereinafter referred to as eastern general aviation). "taking a flight" has become a travel option for shenzhen citizens.

at present, eastern general aviation’s business includes six major business scenarios, including cross-border flights, intercity flights, connecting flights, business customized flights, aerial tours, and emergency rescue. its services cover the “9+2” guangdong-hong kong-macao greater bay area urban agglomeration and the east china urban agglomeration. it has now become one of the largest low-altitude travel platforms in the country.

recently, a reporter from the national business daily (hereinafter referred to as nbd) interviewed zhao qi, chairman of eastern general aviation. in an interview with reporters, he said that at present, the domestic development of low-altitude economy has advantages such as a positive and open policy environment, great market development potential, and a relatively mature industrial chain, but there is still room for improvement in infrastructure construction. at the same time, imperfect industry standards and insufficient market cultivation are restricting the development of the low-altitude economy. he also said that in the near future, low-altitude travel will enter thousands of households and become an affordable and normalized mode of transportation that everyone can afford.

photo provided by the interviewee

what are the constraints in developing the low-altitude economy?

NBD：for low-altitude travel, safety issues have always been the focus of public attention. how can companies ensure the safety of low-altitude flights?

zhao qi:since its establishment in 2016, eastern general aviation has had 8 years of experience in low-altitude flight operations. in order to ensure flight safety, we have taken a series of comprehensive measures, which can be summarized as: aircraft safety, mechanism safety and captain safety. the airbus h135 and leonardo aw139 models we use are twin-engine helicopters with a higher safety factor, which can effectively reduce safety risks caused by design or manufacturing defects. at the same time, we have established a complete safety management system, clarified the responsibilities and powers of each department and personnel, and conducted regular safety inspections to eliminate safety hazards. in addition, we strictly select pilots to ensure that they have the corresponding flight qualifications and many years of flight experience to cope with various emergencies.

NBD：what do you think are the needs and expectations of consumers for low-altitude economic services? what other commercial application scenarios can the company focus on creating?

zhao qi:at present, for consumers, their participation in the low-altitude economy is relatively low. only with the support of government subsidies, the integration and development of the low-altitude economy and other industries, and the lowering of the threshold for consumer participation, can the personalized and diversified needs of consumers be met. to this end, eastern general aviation will continue to work with industry partners to create commercial application scenarios including evtol (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft) for users, and combine the air taxi applet to accurately match capacity and market demand, thereby gradually reducing the cost of low-altitude flight, making low-altitude flight a normalized way of travel for people, and jointly promoting the vigorous development of the low-altitude economy.

NBD：can the current domestic infrastructure and industrial supporting facilities meet the development needs of the low-altitude economy? what are the constraints to the development of the low-altitude economy?

zhao qi:at present, the domestic development of low-altitude economy has advantages such as positive and open policy environment, great market development potential, and relatively mature industrial chain, but there is still room for improvement in infrastructure construction. at the same time, imperfect industry standards and insufficient market cultivation are restricting the development of low-altitude economy. from the perspective of enterprises, further development of low-altitude economy requires the government to increase the construction and investment of low-altitude infrastructure and optimize the management of low-altitude airspace. industry organizations such as shenzhen low-altitude economy industry association should work with upstream and downstream enterprises in the low-altitude economy industry chain to formulate and improve industry standards; at the same time, in external publicity, it is necessary to improve the public's awareness and acceptance of low-altitude economy.

what are the advantages of shenzhen in developing the low-altitude economy?

NBD：the company has six major business scenarios. what are the differences between these products? is it expected that more citizens will be able to enjoy low-altitude flight services in the future?

zhao qi:eastern general aviation aims to provide customers with more convenient, efficient and personalized low-altitude travel solutions. different products have different service objects and application scenarios. for example, for business customized flight services, we mainly provide personalized, point-to-point helicopter charter services to enterprises and business people. for aerial tour business, it is mainly for ordinary tourists, and the routes are usually designed around city landmarks and natural landscapes. in the future, with the large-scale operation of evtol and the reduction of flight costs, low-altitude flight will surely enter thousands of households and become an affordable and normalized mode of transportation that the general public can afford.

NBD：shenzhen is continuously increasing its investment in the low-altitude economy. for example, in february this year, the "regulations on promoting the low-altitude economy industry in shenzhen special economic zone" was officially implemented. what advantages do you think shenzhen has in developing the low-altitude economy?

zhao qi:i believe that shenzhen has the following advantages in developing the low-altitude economy: first, policy support is strong and powerful. the introduction of relevant policies such as the "regulations on promoting low-altitude economic industry in shenzhen special economic zone" has provided a solid legal guarantee for the development of the low-altitude economy; second, it has a strong industrial foundation, gathering a cluster of 2,000 upstream and downstream enterprises in the low-altitude economic industry chain; third, the market demand is strong, connecting international metropolises such as hong kong and macao, and has strong consumption capacity; fourth, the application scenarios are diverse, including air-rail transport, business flights, low-altitude sightseeing, drone logistics, etc., and low-altitude elements have penetrated all walks of life.

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