The German manufacturer of the world’s first electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) jet on Monday announced a firm order for 20 aircraft from UrbanLink, a U.S. eVTOL operator formed in March by aviation entrepreneur Ed Wegel, the founder and CEO of charter airline GlobalX.

Notably, the agreement—which includes another 20 purchase options—sets scheduled predelivery payments between the partners. UrbanLink intends to operate the manufacturer’s flagship Lilium Jet out of planned vertiports in South Florida, with the goal of forming a regional air taxi network by 2026.

The initial network will span Miami, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, and Marco Island, Lilium says.

The collaboration represents a major boost to Lilium’s efforts to serve the Florida market, which has long been in its crosshairs. UrbanLink claims to be the first airline in the U.S. fully committed to integrating eVTOL aircraft into its fleet, giving the manufacturer a crucial operational partner it previously lacked.

“While many airlines have discussed the potential of operating eVTOL aircraft, none have made a definitive commitment,” said Wegel. “UrbanLink will be the first airline in the U.S. to integrate eVTOL aircraft into its fleet…After thorough evaluation of various manufacturers, we found the Lilium Jet to be the optimal choice for our needs, thanks to its superior cabin design, range, capacity, and cost-effectiveness.”

Fellow eVTOL air taxi manufacturer Archer Aviation has a similar relationship with United Airlines, which in 2022 paid $10 million out of its $1 billion deal for the purchase of up to 100 aircraft. Joby Aviation, which intends to operate its eVTOL itself, received a $60 million equity investment from partner Delta Air Lines, also in 2022.

“This is a huge milestone, not only for Lilium, but for the commercialization of eVTOLs in the U.S.,” said Sebastien Borel, chief commercial officer of Lilium. “We believe that this purchase of eVTOL aircraft is the first by a commercial operator that isn’t invested in the manufacturer that it is purchasing from. This is a sign that the market for eVTOL aircraft has matured, and there is growing demand for aircraft that can provide connections between, rather than just within, cities.”

Wegel—who led FAA certification for two U.S. Part 135 airlines and several U.S. Part 121 carriers, including Eastern Air Lines’ fleet of Boeing 737-800s in just eight months—founded UrbanLink as a standalone venture in March.

The industry veteran envisions Miami, Los Angeles, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, as the company’s early markets. It will then expand internationally beginning with the United Arab Emirates, which is rapidly becoming an eVTOL hot spot.

UrbanLink will provide the aircraft, pilots, and other systems needed to run the airline.

The firm picked the Lilium Jet for its fleet due in part to its quiet operation. The aircraft employs a unique fan-in-wing configuration, with 36 electric ducted fans embedded in its fixed wings. Compared to other eVTOL concepts, the design sacrifices efficiency in hover for a significant reduction in noise and improvement in cruise efficiency, where it will spend up to 95 percent of its time.

Since 2020, Lilium has worked with the city of Orlando and other stakeholders to build a regional air mobility (RAM) ecosystem for its eVTOL jet in Florida. Unlike Archer and Joby, which are focused on shorter urban air mobility (UAM) routes, Lilium expects its aircraft to fly between cities, cruising at 162 knots on trips spanning 25 to 125 sm (22 to 109 nm). That range is another factor that garnered UrbanLink’s interest.

Fractional aircraft ownership company NetJets in 2022 became a Lilium partner, signing a memorandum of understanding to purchase 150 aircraft which it will operate within the Florida network. Vertiports, under development at locations such as Orlando International Airport (KMCO), will function as hubs for the service.

Vertical flight services provider Bristow Group will provide maintenance services across the network, while FlightSafety International has agreed to train an initial group of Florida eVTOL pilots.

However, adding an airline partner makes the company’s plans seem much more feasible.

In addition, the German manufacturer has a partnership with Atlantic Aviation to electrify more than 100 FBO terminals nationwide. The sites—30 of which are within Lilium target markets such as Florida, Texas, and Southern California—will be transformed to accommodate its seven-seat eVTOL jet.

Lilium expects the first piloted Lilium Jet flight test to occur in late 2024, with European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) type certification in 2025. FAA certification, via the Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement between the two regulators, would follow shortly after. Lilium remains the only eVTOL manufacturer with certification bases on both sides of the Atlantic.

UrbanLink expects to begin the FAA certification process in late 2025, with commercial service launching by summer 2026.

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Horizon, maker of the seven-seat, hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) Cavorite X7, on Tuesday announced an agreement with Indian regional air operator JetSetGo for the purchase of up to 100 aircraft. The deal, worth up to $500 million, comes within a week of the manufacturer’s initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

A letter of intent between Horizon and JetSetGo calls for the latter to purchase 50 X7s at $5 million apiece, for a total of $250 million. The Indian operator has the option to acquire 50 more aircraft, which would double the value of the agreement.

Capable of taking off vertically like a helicopter or conventionally from the runway, the X7 blends features of a traditional airplane with those of eVTOL air taxis. However, Horizon claims the design offers a greater range, speed, and payload than air taxi designs from Joby Aviation, Archer Aviation, Lilium, and EHang, considered four of the leading firms in the industry.

The X7 will have a variety of use cases: medical evacuation, critical supply delivery, disaster relief, and military missions, to name a few. But JetSetGo, which offers services such as private jet charter and aircraft management, will fly it on passenger-carrying AAM routes. The deal gives Horizon access to the most populous market on the planet.

“We ultimately decided to partner with a company with a deep operational and aerospace technology background that will deliver a product that will help usher in a new era of sustainable air travel, while also providing significant value for our customers,” said Kanika Tekriwal, co-founder and CEO of JetSetGo. “This partnership will help JetSetGo profitably enter new markets by leveraging the versatility of the Cavorite platform to bring about the vision of AAM in India.”

This week’s agreement comes just a few days after Horizon went public via a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Pono Capital Three. As of Tuesday, the firm’s common stock is trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “HOVR.”

Brandon Robinson, founder, CEO, and board chairman of Horizon, will continue to lead the company. Management team members Jason O’Neill (chief operating officer), Brian Robinson (chief engineer), and Brian Merker (chief financial officer) will also stay on.

A SPAC IPO can be a good way for a young firm to raise money, and many eVTOL manufacturers—including Archer, Joby, and Lilium—have gone that route. But they can also be tricky, as in the case of Archer. Following its 2021 merger, Archer brought in $242 million less revenue than expected after shareholders exercised redemption rights. Joby and Lilium also saw significantly lower proceeds than anticipated.

However, Horizon is bullish on its ability to buck the trend. And a large aircraft order within a few days of going public is a positive sign.

“This evolution will serve as a catalyst to accelerate our growth by providing the resources to continue the development and testing of our practical, real-world-use hybrid eVTOL, the Cavorite X7,” said Brandon Robinson.

Not Your Normal Aircraft

Horizon announced the Cavorite X7 in September as a replacement for its Cavorite X5, which was originally expected to become its flagship aircraft. But testing revealed that the design could be expanded from five seats to seven, and customers had been clamoring for a larger aircraft with lower passenger seat mile costs.

Enter the X7. Robinson characterized the hybrid-electric design as a “normal” aircraft with eVTOL capabilities, rather than an eVTOL with features of a traditional airplane. 

The configuration is expected to reduce hydrocarbon emissions by up to 30 percent compared to conventional aircraft conducting the same missions—far from the zero-emission operations promised by all-electric air taxi manufacturers.

But the mixture of electric and conventional propulsion will deliver greater size, speed, range, and capacity, Horizon claims. At the same time, the company says it will reduce direct operating costs by up to 30 percent versus a helicopter conducting the same regional flight.

While the X7 is expected to fly missions spanning 43 to 434 nm, its maximum range of 500 sm (434 nm) exceeds the air taxi routes planned by Joby and Delta and Archer and United, for example. Its 250 mph (217 knots) top speed and 1,500-pound useful load—which rises to 1,800 pounds in conventional takeoff configuration—are also greater than Joby, Archer, Lilium, and EHang. Among those firms, only Lilium is building a seven-seater.

Lilium is also one of the few eVTOL firms that opted to produce lift using electric ducted fans embedded in the aircraft’s wings. Horizon too went with the fan-in-wing configuration, which the company says it has patented. Fourteen redundant electric ducted fans will be installed, but the X7 has successfully hovered with 30 percent of them disabled during testing. Movable surfaces cover the fans during cruise to boost lift across the wings and canards.

The X5 placed fans in both the wings and forward canards, with a pusher prop at the rear of the fuselage aiding in forward flight. It’s unclear whether the X7 will maintain that configuration.

Horizon’s design may eventually go full-electric, but it currently runs on a mixture of electric and gas. The hybrid power system can recharge the X7’s battery packs within 30 minutes between missions.

But using a range extender motor, it can also charge the batteries in the air when the aircraft flies like a conventional airplane: on fixed wings, in a low-drag configuration. The company claims the X7 can spend a whopping 98 percent of its mission flying this way—its patented HOVR wing system makes the transition after takeoff.

In addition, the X7 is designed for both VFR and IFR operations, capable of flying in inclement weather. Flight into known icing conditions, for example, is a certification goal, the company says. Certification will most likely happen in Canada: Horizon received development and type certification support for the X5 from Cert Center Canada (3C), an independent flight test and certification design approval organization approved by Transport Canada.

Horizon so far has yet to announce a manufacturing and entry into service projected timeline for the X7. Archer, Joby, and a few others are targeting commercial launches in 2025, while others, such as Boeing’s Wisk Aero or Overair, are looking further out. 

Archer in November also laid plans for operations in India with a tentative order for up to 200 air taxis. In addition, Archer, Joby, Lilium, EHang, and others have signed agreements with firms in the Middle East, a nearby market with similar demand potential.

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The Houston-based operator on Wednesday placed a deposit on early delivery positions for five hybrid-electric, ultra-short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft from manufacturer Electra.aero. The companies signed a memorandum of understanding for the preorder of up to 50 aircraft in 2021, and Bristow is expected to be Electra’s principal launch operational customer.

“This cash deposit is a real show of confidence in our eSTOL aircraft and a validation of our development roadmap,” said John S. Langford, chair and CEO of Electra. “Bristow is a true AAM leader, and we look forward with anticipation to the future delivery of our aircraft to Bristow’s fleet.”

Bristow will use the eSTOL aircraft to offer zero-emission, regional air mobility (RAM) passenger services, with routes spanning 50 to 500 sm (43 to 434 nm). The design can take off and land in locations as small as 300 by 100 feet—less than the size of an American football field—which opens up operations out of remote or underutilized airports.

Electra achieves this through a unique blown-lift architecture, wherein slipstream flows are directed back over the wings into large flaps and ailerons, which direct the flows downward to augment lift. According to the company, this allows the aircraft to takeoff at “neighborhood driving speeds,” shortening the runway requirement.

“Bristow looks forward to being among the first AAM companies to add the Electra eSTOL aircraft to our fleet and offer our customers the advantages of this new class of aircraft,” said Dave Stepanek, executive vice president and chief transformation officer of Bristow. “Electra’s eSTOL aircraft aligns perfectly with our vision, while enabling new markets at substantially lower operating costs.”

Bristow’s deposit comes just a few days after a major milestone for Electra: the maiden voyage of its EL-2 Goldfinch demonstrator, which was unveiled in June. The company claims the 23-minute, 30 sm (26 nm) flight was the “world’s first” of a hybrid eSTOL design.

The aircraft’s eight electric motors run on a small turbogenerator, which uses hybrid-electric power to recharge its batteries. Electra says this reduces emissions (by 30 percent) and noise (75 dBA at 300 feet, equivalent to a vacuum cleaner) below those of traditional airplanes or rotorcraft. There’s also the benefit of added range and payload, stemming from the eSTOL’s lack of reliance on ground-based electric chargers and the reduced energy requirements of blown lift.

Unlike air taxis manufactured by Joby Aviation or Archer Aviation, for example, Electra’s design uses fixed wings and rigid propellers, so there is no hover or transition to forward flight. The configuration gives it a path to be certified as a multiengine, Level 3, low-speed airplane under FAA Part 23 and be operated with a standard pilot’s certificate in the airplane category.

Electra’s isn’t the only electric aircraft design Bristow has looked to snap up over the past few years.

In 2021, the helicopter operator announced a partnership with the U.K.’s Vertical Aerospace for the delivery of up to 50 VA-X4 air taxis, positioning them as some of the earliest additions to the firm’s eVTOL fleet. The following year, it added an order for up to 50 Lilium Jets and another for as many as 55 Alia-250s from Beta Technologies.

More recently, Bristow in September placed deposits for the early delivery of five Elroy Air Chaparral cargo drones, the first shipment of its preorder for up to 100 aircraft. Just a few days later, the company agreed to order as many as 80 Volocopter VoloCity air taxis, placing a firm order for two of them.

The operator’s other commitments include 20 to 50 Butterfly eVTOLs from Overair and 100 air taxis from Embraer subsidiary Eve Air Mobility.

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