During simulation exercises using helicopters in place of Eve Air Mobility’s eVTOL aircraft to trial air taxi services, one passenger tried to board with a gun and another was drunk. According to Eve CEO Johann Bordais, speaking during an Investors Day event held in New York City this week by parent company Embraer, both passengers were turned away.
Eve has held air taxi trials carrying passengers in Rio de Janeiro and Chicago with partners including Helisul and Blade, but Bordais did not reveal where these incidents had occurred. In late 2023, Eve held another simulation exercise with helicopters operated by Flexjet being used to assess aspects of operations including air traffic management, but these flights did not carry passengers.
According to Bordais, the simulations have helped Eve and prospective operators of its five-seat, piloted eVTOL consider various scenarios for interacting with passengers. They were also intended to raise public awareness about eVTOL air taxi services in large cities facing significant road traffic congestion.
Certification Now Expected in 2027
Eve, which has raised around $740 million in funding since its initial public offering on Wall Street in 2022, is now targeting 2027 for initial launch of commercial operations and aircraft deliveries. In July, it rolled out its first full-scale prototype for what has been referred to as the Eve 100, which is expected to be the first in a family of aircraft.
“Everyone is talking about certification of the aircraft, but we are focused on preparing the entire ecosystem of each city, each county, and each authority; all the stakeholders,” Bordais said. “Without that, we will deliver the aircraft, but they won’t have the high utilization that they need to have.”
Michael Amalfitano, CEO of Embraer Executive Jets, told the gathering of investors and media on November 18 that eVTOL aircraft could prove to be a complement to today’s business aircraft, including those made by the Brazilian aerospace group. “The urban concept Eve is unlocking means time-saving for passengers, and you can apply that to different types of passengers,” he started. “If you have a Phenom or Praetor, and it’s sitting at an FBO, then you’re saving the time in traffic that would be two hours from the Hamptons to the FBO. In the Eve 100, it’s going to take eight minutes.”