Blade India has agreed to acquire 150 of Jaunt's four-passenger eVTOL aircraft, with options for 100 more from 2027. The company—a joint venture between U.S.-based charter flight platform Blade Air Mobility and New Dehli-based investment group Hunch Ventures—currently operates leased helicopters in crowded cities such as Mumbai, Shirdi, Pune, and Bengaluru.

Lyte Aviation came out of stealth mode this week to unveil a radical design for the large-cabin tandem tilt-wing SkyBus aircraft. Initially, it will be powered by a hybrid combination of four turboprop engines and a quartet of hydrogen fuel cell electric motors. The company plans to switch eventually to an all-hydrogen propulsion system for an aircraft promising a range of 625 miles.

Swiss electric flying boat developer Jekta has signed a letter of intent to sell 10 of its PHA-ZE 100 electrically powered amphibious aircraft to charter group Gayo Aviation. The deal includes the provision of ground support equipment for charging and replacing the PHA-ZE 100’s batteries; tools and component support for the first year of operation; training for two pilots and two technicians; and a three-year airframe warranty.

Archer Aviation and United Airlines plan to introduce an aerial ridesharing service in Chicago using Archer’s four-passenger Midnight eVTOL aircraft. The commercial air taxi route, scheduled to launch in 2025, will transport passengers between O’Hare International Airport and Vertiport Chicago, the city’s only downtown heliport facility.

With governments in Nordic countries insisting that early progress is being made in switching air transport to net zero carbon emissions, partnerships to put the right infrastructure in place are proliferating in Sweden and Finland. ZeroAvia knows its plans to convert regional airliners to hydrogen propulsion depend on having the right infrastructure, as does Heart Aerospace, which is working on a hybrid-electric aircraft called the ES-30.

Destinus this week received two grants from the Spanish government to support its efforts to develop hydrogen propulsion for planned long-range hypersonic and supersonic aircraft. Eventually, it wants to bring a 100-passenger airliner into commercial service that can fly at globe-shrinking speeds of Mach 5.

Beta Technologies has added a 10th location to its network of electric recharging stations with an installation at Augusta Regional Airport in Georgia. The eVTOL aircraft developer is working on plans for similar installations, which will support multiple types of electric aircraft and ground vehicles, at more than 50 other U.S. locations.

One of the missions that some developers of new eVTOL aircraft say could be among the early use cases for their vehicles is emergency medical support. Today, air ambulance services are generally provided by helicopters, and often in very challenging conditions where every second counts in saving lives. AIN recently spent time with the STARS organization, which carries medical personnel to sick and injured patients across western Canada, to find out the difference the right aircraft can make in the so-called "golden hour."

Atea is a fixed-wing, hybrid electric eVTOL aircraft being developed by French start-up Ascendance Flight Technologies, which was founded by former members of Airbus’s E-Fan electric aircraft program.