FutureFlight

Portuguese regional airline Sevenair has signed a letter of intent covering up to six Heart Aerospace electric ES-30s. With the expression of interest from Sevenair, Heart Aerospace has collected commitments for the purchase 230 ES-30s, options for 100, and LOIs for a further 99 of the regional airplanes. The extended-range version of the ES-30 could cover all of the airline’s seven routes in Portugal.

Archer Aviation has set the date for the grand unveiling of its first Midnight eVTOL aircraft. The California-based start-up says it will reveal the initial production version of Midnight during a special event at its Palo Alto facility on November 16. 

While working on its own four-passenger eVTOL aircraft, Eve Air Mobility wants to also position itself as a provider of technology, including urban air traffic management software. It is partnering with Skyway Technology, which is already supporting drone operations and wants to introduce navigation services for vertiports.

NASA and autonomous flight pioneer Xwing have signed a Space Act Agreement to explore safety cases in support of increasingly autonomous aircraft operations in the National Airspace System.

Jetstream Aviation Capital has committed to providing $450 million to help Surf Air Mobility develop a supplemental type certificate for hybrid and fully electric powertrains in partnership with MagniX and AeroTec. Jetstream also plans to buy up to 250 hybrid and fully electric powertrains from Surf Air.

EHang’s EH216 Autonomous Aerial Vehicle this week completed its participation in the European Union’s Air Mobility Urban-Large Experimental Demonstration (AMU-LED), with a series of flight tests in Spain.

American Airlines has made an equity investment in Universal Hydrogen as part of its effort to support science-based targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2035 and a commitment to achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2050. American’s investment in Universal Hydrogen comes barely two months after it said it would invest an undisclosed sum in rival hydrogen propulsion system developer ZeroAvia.

Joby and Delta Airlines have announced a partnership that will provide a further $200 million in capital for the eVTOL aircraft developer. The agreement also covers an initial five-year arrangement for Joby to provide flights in its four-passenger vehicles to carry Delta's customers to and from airports in New York and Los Angeles and potentially in the UK as well.

Marshall Aerospace, the UK aircraft modifications specialist, is diversifying into advanced air mobility by offering its expertise in complex engineering projects and managing both assets and services. The Cambridge-based group’s new Futureworx recently launched an autonomous vehicles operations partnership with drone manufacturer ISS Aerospace and software company Sees.ai in what it views as an expansion that could soon lead to further initiatives in areas such as hydrogen propulsion.

MintAir partnered with WeMap and the Korean city of Seongnam to develop a 4D map using voxelization techniques. It plans to use the advanced air mobility planning technology to participate in Korea's K-UAM Grand Challenge program in 2024 as part of preparations to operate new eVTOL and eSTOL aircraft.