The newly combined Halo has placed a firm order of 200 Eve Urban Air Mobility (UAM) vehicles. Halo will be the launch customer for this aircraft. These electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft have an expected delivery date in 2026. One hundred of the aircraft will be used for operations in the United States and 100 will operate in the United Kingdom.
Earlier this year OneSky Flight, a member of the Directional Aviation family, entered the helicopter and vertical lift market when it acquired U.K.-based Halo Aviation Ltd. (Halo) and U.S.-based Associated Aircraft Group (AAG). These two helicopter companies are now being aligned under the Halo brand. Halo will provide streamlined experiences for world-traveling clients of sister companies in the Directional Aviation family of brands: Flexjet, Sentient Jet, PrivateFly and FXAIR.
“Bringing together two companies, which are leading providers of vertical lift and urban mobility services in two of the most important markets, will create a phenomenal vertical mobility platform,” said Kenneth C. Ricci, Principal, Directional Aviation. “And in placing this order for a revolutionary breakthrough in urban air mobility, we are advancing toward safe, efficient and sustainable travel in and between our cities. eVTOL urban air mobility is the greatest opportunity, and the greatest challenge, I have seen in my 40 years in aviation, and Eve is positioned to make it a reality.”
eVTOL Evaluation
OneSky says it looked at nearly a dozen eVTOL aircraft designs before Halo selected Eve as its launch product to deliver its vertical lift vision.
Eve has been incubated by Embraer, so can leverage Embraer’s 50 years of aerospace expertise to address the challenges of eVTOL travel. Eve is taking a broad holistic approach to creating an urban air mobility ecosystem. So in addition to new aircraft technology, it is also creating a global services and support network and an air traffic management solution.
In selecting this aircraft and manufacturer, Ricci said he assessed several elements that pointed to its future success.
“We believe Eve has designed an aircraft that not only is well-prepared for initial certification but also has a proven track record of production,” Ricci said. “The outstanding lineage of aircraft design, certification and production that Embraer brings to this aircraft positions Eve with significant advantages in the competitive landscape. And our background as operators has taught us that product support is absolutely vital to the overall success of new programs. The relationship between Embraer and Eve will create one of the most successful global product support infrastructures in the industry. Finally, the work that Eve and Embraer have completed around their traffic management system is just one more example of how uniquely positioned Eve is to help us deliver on our vision.”
2026 Delivery
The 200 aircraft that Halo has ordered will begin delivery in 2026. Until then, Halo will continue to operate its Leonardo and Sikorsky helicopters as the eVTOL aircraft are phased into service, providing a bridge to the next generation of vertical lift.
“This partnership is an important step for Eve to assume its position as a global leader in the UAM industry. We are ready to build the future of mobility with our partners in an extremely collaborative way. Halo is aligned with our mission to create comprehensive urban air mobility solutions, and this order marks an important milestone for Eve in key markets. We are confident that this mutually beneficial relationship will have a positive impact for many future users and enable both companies to grow their businesses exponentially,” said Andre Stein, President and CEO of Eve Urban Air Mobility.
Eve and Halo say they will work together with the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority and U.S. regulators to advance the first international eVTOL operator partnership of its kind.
Potential SPAC
Within a few days of the above order being announced, there were reports of Embraer SA being in talks to merge Eve Urban Air Mobility with the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Zanite Acquisition Corp. According to reports the deal would value the combined entity at about $2 billion. Kenn Ricci is a co-CEO of Zanite. Several of the other larger eVTOL companies have announced plans to go public via SPAC deals.