Air taxi maker Lilium is out of money and will cease operations
Lilium’s Jet eVTOL.Image: Lilium
Two years before German air taxi manufacturer Lilium promised to deliver its first two aircraft to customers, the air taxi pioneer has run out of money and will imminently stop making them. In a filing to the US SEC, Lilium says it cannot acquire the funding to continue operations in its subsidiaries (Lilium GmbH and Lilium eAircraft GmbH), and is going into insolvency. We’ve been covering the company continually since 2017, when it successfully took its first flight in Germany.
Lilium had previously confirmed it had begun assembling its first two all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in Germany, while working towards certification from the EASA and FAA, but its first customer deliveries weren’t slated until 2026. The FAA had just finalized its rules for eVTOL operation requirements this week.
Air taxis and other electric-powered aircraft cleared for takeoff with final FAA rules
Image: Joby
The Federal Aviation Administration published highly anticipated final regulations for electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles that it says will chart the path for the “air travel of the future.”
The FAA says these “powered-lift” vehicles will be the first completely new category of aircraft since helicopters were introduced in 1940. These aircraft will be used for a variety of services, including air taxis, cargo delivery, and rescue and retrieval operations. The final rules published today contain guidelines for pilot training as well as operational requirements regarding minimum safe altitudes and visibility.
Toyota puts another $500 million in an air taxi startup
Toyota is betting big on air taxis.Image: Toyota
Toyota is investing another $500 million in Joby Aviation to support the air taxi startup’s certification and commercial production of eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft for use in a ridehailing service. The automaker has now invested a total of $894 million since 2018.
Toyota’s investment will come in the form of two $250 million tranches, the first of which will be completed this year and the second in 2025. The automaker will also establish a manufacturing alliance with Joby for the first commercialization phase. The companies had signed an agreement in 2023 to let Toyota make powertrain components for Joby’s air taxi.
Archer targets LA for air taxi service.
The aviation startup said it would launch an “air mobility network” in Los Angeles to combat the city’s notorious congestion. Vertiports, where Archer’s Midnight eVTOL aircraft will takeoff and land, are being planned for LAX, Orange County, Santa Monica, Hollywood Burbank, Long Beach, Van Nuys, and the University of California. If the company can get the proper approvals from the FAA, service will launch in early 2026.
Trips that would take over an hour by car could take as little as 10-20 minutes in Archer’s air taxis.Image: Archer
Lilium strikes sales deal with Saudi Arabia for up to 100 eVTOL aircraft
Image: Lilium
Lilium, an electric aviation company based in Germany, says it has secured a binding sales agreement for up to 100 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft with Saudia Group, which operates the largest airline carrier in Saudi Arabia and is wholly owned by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The agreement is a “firm order” for 50 Lilium jets, with an option to purchase up to 50 more, the company said. The deal follows a 2022 memorandum of understanding between Lilium and Saudia to explore ways in which battery-powered multi-rotor aircraft can address the region’s transportation challenges.
Southwest Airlines and Archer strike a deal for an electric air taxi network
Image: Archer
Today, Southwest Airlines became the latest major carrier to join forces with a so-called urban air mobility startup. The Dallas-based airline signed a memorandum of understanding with Archer Aviation to draw up plans for an air taxi service.
The service will operate using Archer’s battery-powered, four-passenger, tilt-rotor Midnight aircraft, which are designed to take off and land vertically from a landing strip like a helicopter. As part of the deal, the aircraft will get access to 14 California airports where Southwest operates.
Archer Aviation gets the green light to operate an electric air taxi service
Image: Archer
Archer Aviation, a leading electric aviation company based in San Jose, California, announced that it has received a Part 135 air carrier certification from the Federal Aviation Administration, which the company will need to operate an on-demand air taxi service.
That puts Archer on the cusp of launching a fully-fledged commercial service using its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle. The company has also received Part 145 certification, which authorizes it to conduct specialized aircraft repair services. The FAA also recently issued the final airworthiness criteria for the Midnight aircraft. Archer is only the second eVTOL company to receive Part 135 certification, after Joby Aviation in 2022.
Pilotless air taxis? Joby sees the possibility with new acquisition
Image: Joby
Leading electric aviation company Joby Aviation said it has acquired the autonomy division from Xwing, an aviation startup that’s been working on pilotless flight projects for several years. The terms of the deal, which involve an amount of Joby stock, were not disclosed.
Joby’s electric air taxis are still a couple years away from launch, but the company says it wants to position itself to take advantage of autonomous flight when the technology is ready for commercial application.
Airtaxis get a boost from Congress.
The recently passed bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration contains a whole section on “advanced air mobility,” which is an industry term for electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. According to The Air Current, the bill contains provisions that would make it much easier for first generation eVTOL operators like Joby, Archer, Supernal and Beta — all of which have been spending crazy money on lobbying in Washington — to launch commercial airtaxi operations.
Stellantis still believes in flying cars.
The automaker (parent company to Jeep and Dodge) announced a purchase of 8.3 million shares in eVTOL company Archer, in a deal roughly worth over $39 million. Stellantis already has a deal to manufacture Archer’s electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, which are set to launch in 2025. Today’s open market stock purchase is meant to signal “Stellantis’ continued confidence in Archer’s plans” to bring its aircraft to market. Despite numerous layoffs, trade secret disputes, and company shutdowns, the eVTOL true believers are still racing to get something in the air to prove all this cash burn has been worth it.
Archer’s eVTOL aircraft is meant for short distance trips of 20-50 miles.Image: Stellantis
China cracks open the door to flying taxis
EHang executives accept certification for the EHang 216-S.Image: EHang Holdings
Life is amazing in 2023 — we have tiny computers with amazing cameras in our pockets; massive, dirt-cheap (or free!) TVs; cars that (sort of) drive themselves — but where are our flying cars and jet packs? The flying cars are at least in China, or that’s where they’ll get their first real commercial flights, anyway. EHang Holdings said last week that the government there issued it a certification to start actual passenger trials in the country.
The company will be allowed to take passengers on aerial tours, which Bloomberg reported it will offer through local partnerships in Xinjiang province and Shenzen. The “type certificate,” issued by CAAC, China’s aviation authority, signifies that its E216-S air taxi “fully complies with CAAC’s safety standards and airworthiness requirements.”
Airbus is testing out autonomous flying tech in some of its planes
Image: WENDELL TEODORO/AFP via Getty Images
Airbus is testing out a suite of new automated technology that it says has the potential to improve the safety and efficiency of flying.
The automated technology, which has been branded as the company’s DragonFly project, includes “automated emergency diversion in cruise, automatic landing, and taxi assistance,” Airbus says.
Stellantis will mass-produce Archer’s electric air taxi as part of $150 million deal
Image: Archer
Stellantis announced a deal with air taxi startup Archer to mass-produce the company’s electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles. The deal, which was announced during CES at Las Vegas, designates Stellantis as the exclusive contract manufacturer for Archer’s Midnight eVTOL aircraft.
As part of the deal, Stellantis will provide $150 million in equity capital for Archer to use “at its discretion” in 2023 and 2024, Archer said. The two companies entered into a definitive agreement to allow Archer to access Stellantis’ supply chain and manufacturing expertise back in January 2021. Now, they’re taking things a step further.
Delta Airlines will invest up to $200 million in Joby Aviation to create a ‘home-to-airport’ air taxi service
Delta Airlines will invest $60 million in Joby Aviation, a leading electric air taxi startup, to create a “home-to-airport” service using the startup’s five-seat electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, the companies announced Tuesday. Delta said its investment in Joby could go as high as $200 million if the company hits certain milestones.
The service, which will launch first in New York City and Los Angeles with other cities to follow, will be “mutually exclusive” across the US and UK for five years, with the option to extend that exclusivity for longer, the companies said. The home-to-airport service will exist in parallel to Joby’s currently nonexistent airport service, transporting passengers from cities to airports.
Boeing-backed Wisk Aero reveals a four-seater autonomous air taxi
Air taxi startup Wisk Aero unveiled its sixth-generation aircraft, an all-electric four-seater that can fly without a human pilot. The Boeing-backed company said it will seek approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to carry passengers as part of a commercial air taxi service.
Wisk, which was formed in 2019 as a joint venture between Boeing and Kitty Hawk, the flying taxi company bankrolled by Google co-founder Larry Page that recently shut down, is in a race to become the first so-called advanced air mobility company to get the green light from the FAA for passenger testing. Wisk claims that its sixth-generation aircraft is the first electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) candidate for type certification.
United Airlines invests $15 million in electric aviation startup, orders 200 air taxis
United says its purchase of 200 air taxis from Eve Air is conditional.United Airlines
United Airlines is investing $15 million in Eve Air Mobility, an electric aviation startup owned by Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer. As part of the deal, United will purchase 200 of Eve’s electric air taxis, which can seat four passengers and take off and land vertically like a helicopter.
This is the second major investment from United in the nascent world of electric air mobility after investing an undisclosed amount of money in Archer last year. These companies propose to develop small, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that can fly from rooftop to rooftop in a dense city as a taxi service. But so far, none have received clearance from federal aviation regulators to fly passengers.
Joby Aviation inches closer to getting full government approval for its electric air taxis
Joby Aviation, a leading electric aviation company based in Northern California, announced that it has received its first certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The agency awarded the company with a Part 135 air carrier certification, which Joby will need to operate an on-demand air taxi service.
The certification was awarded ahead of schedule, with Joby initially targeting the second half of 2022 for its receipt. Under Part 135, Joby can officially conduct commercial air taxi services — though it still needs two more certifications, alongside type certification and production certification, before its aircraft can legally carry passengers. Type certification means the aircraft meets all the FAA’s design and safety standards, while production certification is the approval to begin manufacturing the aircraft.
Honda is doubling down on rockets, robots, and flying cars
Honda is increasing its research and development spending in three futuristic areas: rockets, robots, and electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL), otherwise known as flying cars.
The automaker will spend $45 billion (5 trillion yen) on R&D over the next six years. But Honda won’t say what fraction of that amount will be spent on developing rockets, robots, and flying cars, nor even if it plans on pursuing those projects as commercial businesses.
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