Sydney Seaplanes and Nautilus Aviation have entered into partnership with Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions (of Embraer) to receive eVTOL aircraft. (Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions)
Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions, a subsidiary of Embraer, shared announcements this week about two new partnerships. Both ventures serve to accelerate electric air taxi use in Australia. The first partnership is an agreement to introduce 10 of Eve’s electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) to Queensland, Australia, for operation by luxury helicopter operator Nautilus Aviation. The second partnership is with Sydney Seaplanes, which has already ordered 50 eVTOLs from Eve.
Nautilus Aviation, a division of Morris Group based in Northern Australia, will employ the new eVTOLs for scenic flights over the Great Barrier Reef and other iconic tourist attractions. Morris Group intends to reach net-zero emissions by the year 2030, and beginning operations of eVTOL aircraft as soon as 2026 will help the company reach this goal, according to the founder and CEO Chris Morris.
“We believe economic success and environmental sustainability go hand-in-hand and aim to strengthen and enrich the environments in which we work. Eve’s eVTOL technology will integrate seamlessly into our operations to deliver a range of exciting zero-emission tourism experiences,” Morris said.
In addition to providing its 100% electric VTOL aircraft, the company also contributes to the air traffic management, safety standards, and training and support with its product suite.
Sydney Seaplanes, founded in 2005, has performed over 80,000 flights to date and intends to operate all-electric aircraft as soon as 2024. (Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions)
On Australia’s southeastern coast, Sydney Seaplanes has operated its aircraft since 2005 as a tourism service out of Sydney Harbour. The company hopes to commence all-electric flights as early as 2024 and is planning to create Alt Air, a zero-emissions regional airline, sometime in 2022. The order for Eve’s eVTOLs will contribute significantly to the sustainability goals for local tourism and commuter flights in Sydney.
Aaron Shaw, Sydney Seaplanes’ CEO, described the benefits that this partnership will provide for Sydney in a press release, saying that it will create high-tech, zero-carbon jobs that support developing transportation and tourism. “Eve’s eVTOL technology will integrate seamlessly with our electric amphibious fleet to deliver a range of tourism and commuter journeys,” commented Shaw.
Urban air mobility (UAM) operations have potential for growth in the Greater Sydney market. Andre Stein, president and CEO of Eve Urban Air Mobility, is confident that the partnership to provide eVTOLs to Sydney Seaplanes will “improve the efficiency of movement to complement existing transport modes. Eve will support this new partnership with comprehensive solutions for aircraft operations including air traffic management solutions, maintenance, training, and other services.”
While Eve’s eVTOL aircraft were designed with UAM applications in mind, there is a concept of operations study underway in Scandinavia to explore eVTOL use in rural areas for both cargo and passenger transport. Regional Norwegian airline Widerøe’s air mobility business incubator division, Widerøe Zero, is partnering with Eve to complete this study, according to a press release from last month. Andreas Kollbye Aks, CEO of Widerøe Zero, said, “Our partnership with Eve is part of our plan to accelerate the development of sustainable aviation in Norway. We are looking forward to the expanded partnership, unlocking new opportunities to improve regional connectivity.”