Eve Air Mobility and Helicopters Inc. sign agreement for up to 50 eVTOL aircraft

The electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) developer Eve Air Mobility has reached an agreement with Helicopters Inc. for up to 50 aircraft.  

Eve Air Mobility, a subsidiary of Brazilian planemaker Embraer, confirmed on December 4, 2024, that a Letter of Intent (LOI) had been signed with the US-based helicopter operator. 

The agreement, which also includes service support and Vector, Eve’s urban air traffic management (ATM) software, was revealed at Revolution.Aero Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) conference in San Francisco which runs for two days until December 5, 2024. 

“We appreciate Helicopters Inc.’s confidence in Eve by purchasing up to 50 of our eVTOL aircraft,” Megha Bhatia, Chief Commercial Officer, Eve Air Mobility, said. “Helicopters Inc. is a recognized leader, safely operating aircraft in more than 30 metropolitan areas throughout the U.S., and we are excited to add such a credible vertical lift operator to our list of customers. We look forward to working with them on deploying our all-electric eVTOL aircraft as part of their extensive U.S. operation.” 

According to Eve, it first worked with Helicopters Inc. in 2022 to replicate future eVTOL operations with a special flight from the Vertiport Chicago facility to two helistops located northwest and southwest of Chicago. 

“Eve Air Mobility’s maturity and reliability, backed by Embraer, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of commercial aircraft, was a key factor in our decision to select Eve for our future eVTOL aircraft,” said Tom Wagner, President of Helicopters Inc. “The eVTOL aircraft will provide numerous advantages including competitive cost of operation, fewer parts and optimized structures and systems, not to mention a lower noise footprint and environmental benefits.” 

Eve and Helicopters Inc. will further work together in refining potential launch cities in target markets, aircraft maintenance and servicing requirements. 

Eve is seen as one of the leading eVTOL aircraft developers and appears to have the necessary investment to see the company through the development phase.  

On October 30, 2024, Eve announced that it has secured a $50 million loan from Citibank which expanded its liquidity position to around $480 million.    

Eve has letters of intent for nearly 3,000 eVTOL including with customers on nearly every continent and unveiled its first full-scale prototype at the Farnborough Air Show in July 2024.  

The eVTOL aircraft prototype uses eight propellers for vertical flight and fixed wings for cruising, without moving any parts during flight.  

It also features an electric pusher with two electric motors for extra reliability. This design is supposed to deliver top performance, safety, reliability, and low operating costs. 

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