Charter flight provider Blade is among the early prospective customers for Beta’s Alia-250 and the New York City area is one of its key markets. Other prospective customers for the all-electric aircraft include express delivery company UPS, helicopter operator Bristow, medical group United Therapeutics, and lessor LCI.

Final assembly of the first company-conforming example of Joby's four-passenger eVTOL aircraft is a significant milestone in the vehicle’s path to production approval by the FAA. Manufacturing is being conducted in accordance with an officially released design and a quality management system.

During this week's World Government Summit, Dubai ruler HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum approved plans to develop a network of vertiports that will support eVTOL air taxi services. The first locations will be Dubai International Airport, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Downtown, and Dubai Marina.

Operators of eVTOL aircraft say they will carry thousands of passengers in ways that open up exciting new public transportation options. However, experts at companies like MedAire are advising newcomers to make a plan for dealing with inflight medical emergencies to save lives and protect the public reputation of new services based on single pilot or autonomous operations. Technology and innovation could provide answers for a fit-for-purpose level of care for the advanced air mobility sector.

NASA’s first all-electric experimental aircraft, the X-57 Maxwell, just notched another milestone on the path to its first flight. Engineers at the agency's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland have successfully completed thermal testing of its cruise motor controllers. 

A new partnership between eVTOL aircraft developer Horizon and CertCenterCanada is intended to reduce technical and business risks associated with completing the complex type certification process. The Canadian companies will now collaborate in work that includes flight testing, design, gap analysis, and airworthiness approval.

Grand Flight, Kunlun Capital, and KIP Capital are among the new ventures backing a pre-Series A funding round for Chinese eVTOL aircraft developer TCab Tech. The company, whose name stands for Time Taxi, says that the all-electric E20 vehicle will have a range of up to around 125 miles.

Electric aircraft are being developed for a wide array of roles that could transform public transportation of people and things, and also the way society deals with emergencies. But there are significant differences in what the various designs and technologies can deliver, so FutureFlight asked independent expert Darrell Swanson to talk us through the ways that multicopters, fixed-wing, and lift-and-cruise designs differ, and how society can get the most from them.

After spending years working with the Cora two-seat eVTOL technology demonstrator aircraft, Wisk Aero has now gone public on its plans to produce a four-seat air taxi. The all-electric vehicle, which the company says represents its sixth-generation design, is intended to operate autonomously.