Page 8 - AAA JULY / SEPTEMBER 2023 Latest Magazine | GBP

In July this year, US-based Joby Aviation
received a Special Airworthiness Certificate
from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA), allowing the company to start flight
testing its first production prototype aircraft.
The Toyota-backed company, which plans to
commence commercial operations in 2025,
has a facility in California and plans to set
up a bigger factory either in Ohio or North
Carolina to make the air taxis. The eVTOL firm
has already signed a contract with Delta Air
Lines to transport airline customers traveling
to and from airports, with the two companies
intending to roll out the service in New York
and Los Angeles initially. It is not just start-up
companies that are competing for a space in
the market; industry bigwigs such as Airbus,
Boeing, and Bell are also in advanced stages
of developing UAM vehicles.

Standing Out in a Crowd
Even as other players in the UAM sector try
to grab the early bird advantage by being the more than US$6 billion. In what can be seen as the first signs of
first to market, Hyundai Motor Group sub- the UAM market extending its reach to the defence sector, the
sidiary Supernal is taking a different road to company received a non-binding order from Embraer and BAE
success. The company, which unveiled its five- Systems for up to 150 eVTOLs that will be used for defence and
seat concept at the Farnborough International security applications. The company’s varied customer lineup
Airshow last year, plans to start operations in includes fixed wing and helicopter operators as well as rideshare
2028. The company has, over the last few providers.
months, signed partnerships with a number
of industry players such as GKN Aerospace,
Echodyne, BAE Systems, Honeywell, Microsoft, In June this year, Eve and United Airlines announced plans to
Inmarsat, Qarbon and TruWeather Solutions. bring Urban Air Mobility (UAM) to San Francisco by launching
electric commuter flights throughout the Bay Area in 2026. The
“Supernal is taking a “first to scale” approach two companies will work with local and state officials, infrastruc-
ture, energy and technology providers to ensure the appropriate
over the “first to market” sentiment you see infrastructure is in place to introduce eVTOL flights. In 2022,
across the industry,” says Adam Slepian, Chief United had announced a US$15 million investment in Eve and a
Commercial Officer, Supernal. “It’s possible conditional purchase agreement for 200 eVTOLs plus 200 options.
to go to market with today’s aerospace
materials, technologies and manufacturing
processes; however, it’s not possible to scale Eve and Widerøe Zero, an initiative by Widerøe focused on sus-
with them. AAM will need to become more tainable aviation, will launch eVTOL operations in Scandinavia
affordable than aviation is today if the indus- with up to 50 aircraft, the two companies announced in June
try wants to fulfill its promise. We’re investing this year. The agreement between the companies also involves
time and resources upfront to ensure our vehi- a service and operation solutions package, as well as the imple-
cle reaches an affordable price-point. We’re mentation of Eve’s Urban Air Traffic Management (Urban ATM)
using these early years to lay the groundwork software solution.
to ensure AAM is technically, regulatorily and
commercially feasible.”
In March this year, Archer and United Airlines announced plans
to launch the first air taxi route in Chicago, between O’Hare
Soaring Expectations International Airport (ORD) and Vertiport Chicago. Vertiport
If interest from potential buyers is an indi- Chicago, North America’s largest vertical aircraft takeoff and
cation, the UAM sector is set for success. landing facility, is located in the Illinois Medical District near the
Embraer ended 2022 with a backlog to 2,770 Chicago Loop. Passengers will be able to travel to and from ORD
eVTOLs; a big spike from the 1,910 conditional using Archer’s Midnight aircraft in about 10 minutes, compared to
sales agreements it announced in June last over an hour by road during rush hour traffic. The two companies
year. The estimated value of the backlog is plan to start operations in 2025.

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