US carrier United Airlines has partnered with Eve Air Mobility to provide electric commuter flights in the San Francisco bay area.
This announcement is an important first step as both the airline and manufacturer will look to work alongside the relevant bodies to make this plan a reality.
This will include working with local and state officials with San Francisco and California, energy providers and more to ensure the correct infrastructure is put in place to all for such flights.
In addition, the two companies will work together to form what routes will become of this plan, so planning can begin on where to build the stations.
Andre Stein, co-CEO of Eve Air Mobility said, “Our shared goal is to provide residents and visitors to the San Francisco Bay area with efficient and cost competitive transportation in one of the most densely populated urban areas in the U.S”.
He added, “The Bay Area is perfect for eVTOL flights given its size, traffic, focus on sustainability, innovation and commitment to add other options for mobility”.
Furthermore, Micheal Leskinen, President of United Airlines Ventures said, “Urban Air Mobility has the potential to revolutionise how United customers work, live, travel”
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He added, “Eve’s proposed route is a critical first step towards making this all-electric and quiet commute a reality for Bay Area residents”.
United is investing big in electric
In 2022, United announced a whopping $15million investment in Eve Air Mobility and a conditional purchase for up to 400 eVTOL aircraft.
These are broken down into 200 firm orders and 200 options.
The move to invest such large amounts of money in such new technology is all part of United’s ambitious sustainable growth plans as the airline looks to slash its CO2 emissions.
In addition, the move to invest was also driven by an element of confidence in the market, especially with Eve’s intriguing partnership with Embraer.
This relationship that Eve and Embraer hold will prove pivotal in allowing Eve to develop its eVTOL aircraft as they will have access to Embraer’s global service centers, parts warehouses and technicians.
A new way to travel in San Francisco
Eve’s eVTOL aircraft will provide United customers with a brand new, fast, sustainable and economical way for them to traverse the bay area.
Gone will be days of traditional public transport, which over in the United States has never been incredible compared to the likes of European cities.
The aircraft will have a range of 60miles, so if stations are placed strategically enough, the wider coverage of these air taxis, will be hugely beneficial to the greater San Francisco area.
As we have been mentioning the aircraft will be eVTOL, which stands for electric-vertical take off and landing. As such this will mean the aircraft act like helicopters, so they can fit into tight spaces and the stations wont need to be desperately huge to accommodate them around the city.
At present the plan will be to have these aircraft manned, but as the technology advances, plans are in place to make them fully autonomous, without the need for crew.
With all this said, Eve’s eVTOL aircraft are expected to enter service in 2026 and as far as we know it will change the way the San Francisco bay area runs.
