Air New Zealand will make the conventional takeoff and landing version of Beta Technologies' Alia vehicle its first electric aircraft, with plans to use one of them for trial commercial cargo flights for the country's postal service. The agreement with Beta could result in the airline buying another 22 aircraft under options and rights covered in an agreement announced on December 5.

Following a two-week flight test campaign in New Zealand, Wisk Aero says it has  demonstrated that autonomous, uncrewed aircraft can safely integrate with regular piloted aircraft in controlled airspace. The California-based eVTOL developer and its local partners conducted flight trials between November 17 and December 1 to evaluate how pilotless aircraft flying beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) can safely operate under instrument flight rules (IFR) in controlled airspace, where they must comply with air traffic control.

Operating from Flexjet's Tactical Control Centre at the London-area Farnborough Airport, the company joined colleagues from Eve Air Mobility for a four-day simulation of what urban air mobility operations would look like. The teams used Flexjet's 11-strong helicopter fleet in place of the in-development, four-passenger eVTOL aircraft Eve aims to certify in late 2026.

With a multirole UAV called Laila in the works, Odys Aviation is expanding the scope of its flap-based thrust vectoring and blown technology to transform air services. Following Laila to market is the company's nine-passenger hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft, which Odys says has attracted interest from 13 airlines looking to decarbonize flights and reshape the operating economics for multiple routes.

Crisalion is using the FlyFree propulsion and stability technology as the basis for what it views as a more suitable architecture for its five-passenger eVTOL aircraft. The Spain-based company is preparing to launch a Series B funding round to support its efforts to complete EASA type certification by 2030.

Evolito is about to start the type certification process for its axial-flux electric propulsion systems after securing design organization approval from the UK Civil Aviation Authority. The company, which was spun off from automotive group YASA in 2021, says it is working with three or four electric aircraft developers and supplying individual components such as motors to others.

The Brazilian start-up has begun the flight test program for its drone, using a 70 percent-scale technology demonstrator. The aircraft is expected to have a payload of 200 kilograms (440 pounds) and a range of 300 kilometers (190 miles). The latest prospective customer is 7Reis Farm in Mato Grosso state, which plans to use it to spray soya bean crops.

Daher, Safran, and Airbus achieve first flight with EcoPulse technology demonstrator; NASA and Afwerx jointly develop advanced air mobility operations center; Flyvbird plans air taxi flights from Dutch airport; Helibravo and Bluenest plan Portuguese vertiport network; and Doroni's personal eVTOL gets experimental flight clearance.

At Manassas Regional Airport in Virginia, Electra recently started test flights with the subscale EL-2 Goldfinch technology demonstrator it is using to complete the development of its nine-passenger hybrid-electric eSTOL aircraft. The company claims its ability to land on sites as small as 150 feet by 300 feet will open up thousands of new commercial routes for regional airlines and other operators when the full-scale production aircraft enters service in 2028.