Embraer’s Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions and private on-demand charter broker Flapper plan to enter a partnership to serve as a proof-of-concept for future operations of Eve’s eVTOL aircraft. In a deal announced on July 22, Eve says it will provide up to 25,000 hours of flight time per year across key cities in South America, including São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte in Brazil, the Chilean capital Santiago; Bogotá in Colombia; and Mexico City.
Initially, the parties plan to use helicopter charter services to collect data to support the development of eVTOL air taxi networks. The agreement could result in as many as 25 of Eve's eVTOL aircraft, which the company refers to as Electric Vertical Aircraft (EVA).
“Flapper’s regional reach combined with its disruptive on-demand technology make it an ideal partner for the future expansion of our operations in Latin America,” said Eve CEO Andre Stein. “Deploying Eve’s zero-emission aircraft will enable the company to democratize UAM to new stakeholders and key markets.”
Flapper CEO Paul Malicki added that six out of the ten largest urban helicopter fleets reside in Latin America and the region now boasts the densest helicopter infrastructure in the world. “Thanks to our partnership with Eve, we hope to expand our current pay-per-seat network and implement a smooth transition towards more agile and efficient supply types,” he said. “We believe that the Eve team’s track record of providing reliable AAM solutions at record speeds is of utmost importance to the success of similar projects anywhere in the world.”
The deployment of Eve aircraft across the Flapper network remains subject to the parties entering into a definitive final agreement. Eve has previously estimated that it expects its four-passenger, all-electric aircraft, which should have a range of around 60 miles, to be certified for commercial use from 2026.
Eve has previously announced provisional service deals with U.S.-based on-demand charter platform Blade, and also has purchase commitments from ridesharing service Halo in the U.S. and UK, and Helisul Aviation in Brazil. Meanwhile, there has been no further news about its plans to seek a merger with special purpose acquisition company Zanite, which is backed by business aviation entrepreneur Kenn Ricci.
The business model for Eve's planned services will involve recruiting local partners to operate the eVTOL aircraft, either through ride-sharing platforms like Flapper or in some kind of 'white label' format where an aircraft operator provides branded services. "That model allows us to replicate the solution in different markets and scale quickly, sharing risk and growth with local operators," a spokeswoman told FutureFlight.
According to Eve, it expects the average trip duration in its unnamed eVTOL aircraft to be between 10 to 15 minutes. It believes that, as operations are scaled up, the price per passenger will be just slightly above ground transportation options for the same route.
In the next few months, the Eve engineering team intends to start flying a full-scale, proof-of-concept aircraft. It is stepping up its engage with regulators as it prepares to start the type certification process. Eve is also preparing to run operational simulations with Helisul Aviation in Rio de Janeiro and other "ecosystem partners."
