Eve this week became the latest eVTOL aircraft developer to announce plans to prepare the way for flights in the Miami area. The company also announced another agreement covering provisional sales of up to 200 of the four-passenger eVTOL vehicle that it aims to bring to market in 2026, taking the number of commitments it has logged so far to 1,785 units.

The Florida-based company, which is a subsidiary of Brazilian aerospace group Embraer, is forming a consortium of companies to develop a concept of operations (Conops) for urban air mobility (UAM) services connecting Miami International Airport (MIA) and the Miami Beach Convention Center. The consortium also includes air traffic management specialist L3 Harris Technologies, ground infrastructure provider Skyports, and the Community Air Mobility Initiative (CAMI).

In a related March 16 announcement, Eve reported that Miami-based charter carrier Global Crossing Airlines (GlobalX) has signed a letter of intent covering provisional orders for up to 200 of the four-passenger eVTOL vehicle it aims to bring to market in 2026. GlobalX is expected to contribute to plans to launch commercial flights in south Florida and could also be involved in deploying Eve’s aircraft in other parts of its U.S. network.

“We are honored to be working with Eve Air Mobility and believe their affiliation with Embraer ensures Eve will be the best-positioned eVTOL OEM,” said GlobalX chair and CEO Ed Wegel. “These eVTOLs will enable us to expand our market throughout south Florida, bringing our customers to their flights at MIA and FLL [Fort Lauderdale], as well as local flying within Key West and all the Keys, Naples, and Palm Beach.”

GlobalX holds an FAA Part 121 air operators certificate and has a fleet of Airbus A320 airliners. It operates charter flights and leases aircraft to other carriers in the U.S., the Caribbean, and Latin America. Later this year, it will start cargo operations with the larger A321 model.

Three other eVTOL aircraft manufacturers—Archer, Supernal, and Lilium—have already said they intend to launch air-taxi services in the Miami area. However, Eve says it is the first to work on an agnostic Conops plan that is not specific to any particular aircraft type or business model. Unlike other companies, Eve does not intend to operate air-taxi services itself.

“This is the first agnostic contribution to UAM planning and other people can build on top of it,” said David Rottblatt, vice president of business development for Eve Air Mobility. He sees a Conops plan around one use case resulting in a template that can be readily adapted to many other routes.

Eve sees potential for the Conops exercise to lead to some trial UAM operations similar to those conducted last year in Rio de Janeiro with prospective eVTOL operator Helisul. Using different price points, the companies employed existing helicopters to explore demand for routes that could be served by eVTOLs. Rottblatt pointed out that in Sao Paulo, there are already around 1,300 rotorcraft air taxi flights each day, and that these are managed through an air traffic control system devised by Embraer subsidiary Atech.

In its blueprint document, Eve modeled the potential UAM market in the Miami area and concluded that it could consist of around 32 vertiports connecting eight routes and requiring 200 eVTOL aircraft. The consortium will now consider in more detail what infrastructure could be developed to support such plans, and this could include using the rooftops of existing buildings such as hotels and parking garages as so-called "nodes" to extend service. They will also consider requirements such as connections to the power grid for battery recharging.

Based on access to existing public information, Eve and its partners have already prepared a report that offers a blueprint for new air mobility services in the area. They are starting further consultations with stakeholders across Miami-Dade County based on a series of "listen-and-learn" events taking place through June 30. Anyone interested in participating can email the consortium at contact@EveAirMobility.com.

Eve’s engineering team has been conducting ground tests on a full-scale proof-of-concept version of its eVTOL model and expects to start flying this in the next few months. The company says it is on track to complete initial type certification with Brazilian aviation regulator ANAC in 2025 and to start deliveries in 2026.

Type certification with the FAA would follow under ANAC’s bilateral agreement with the U.S. ANAC recently agreed on the basis for certification with Embraer.

Meanwhile, a business combination announced last year with special purpose acquisition company Zanite Acquisition is still in the works. The companies expect this to lead to an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in the second half of 2022.

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