Is Brazil Latin America’s Battleground for eVTOLs?

Last month, Flying Magazine published an article discussing if Los Angeles is becoming the US battleground for developing electric Vertical and Take Off Landing aircraft (eVTOL). Now, we intend to do something similar. Is Brazil Latin America’s battleground for eVTOLs? Brazil’s helicopter market Brazil is widely considered to be the world’s second-largest business aviation market. It currently has a fleet of nearly 2,000 private jets, according to Fly Flapper, a company deeply involved with this market. Additionally, it has more than 2,100 helicopters, according to Rotor & Wing International. Moreover, the São Paulo-Rio de Janeiro connection has constantly been in the top 3 of the world’s busiest passenger air routes and has plenty of executive flights. São Paulo itself has the world’s largest helicopter fleet. Therefore, it is not a surprise to see many companies setting their eyes on Brazil’s potentially lucrative air taxi market. Earlier this month, Embraer’s startup EVE announced it had won a 100-eVTOL order in Brazil. EVE, Lilium, and Avolon So far, three companies have announced deals in Brazil regarding the eVTOL market. These are EVE, Lilium, and Avolon. First, EVE announced an alliance with Flapper to develop the Urban Air Mobility in Latin America. Additionally, Flapper (an independent private aviation platform) could acquire up to 25 eVTOL aircraft from EVE. EVE also announced the signing of a Letter of Intention with Avantto to acquire up to 100 eVTOL aircraft in the next few years. The deliveries would begin in 2026. Both companies would develop new services and procedures to create a safe and scalable environment for eVTOL operations to expand. Embraer and EVE also launched a cooperation campaign with Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) and the Department of Airspace Control (DECEA). Together, they will develop a new concept of operations for unmanned aircraft mobility in Rio de Janeiro. Also, the Brazilian carrier Azul recently announced its plan to invest up to $1 billion with Lilium. Azul could take delivery of up to 220 eVTOL aircraft by 2025. Lilium and Azul will work to “radically transform high-speed regional transportation” in the country. Finally, GOL Linhas Aereas announced a partnership with Avolon to commercialize an eVTOL ride-sharing platform in Brazil. GOL could purchase or lease up to 250 VA-X4 eVTOL aircraft manufactured by Vertical Aerospace. Stephen Fitzpatrick, Vertical CEO, commented, “The VA-X4 is ideal for a city like São Paulo with a population of over 22 million people. Our eVTOLs will transform how we travel around high population density cities that are clogged with traffic by taking to the skies with zero-emission aircraft.” What do we think? So, is Brazil Latin America’s battleground for eVTOLs? It seems to me it is. Mexico City should be in the contest behind Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro because it shares similarities with the Brazilian megalopolis. Nevertheless, no company has actually announced its intention of providing air taxi services in Mexico City so far. It will be fascinating to follow Brazil’s development of the air taxi market, both from a commercial and regulatory point of view. Moreover, the collaboration of EVE with companies with Flapper, providing up to 25,000 hours of flight time per year and foster a culture of on-demand UAM booking in cities like São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte (Brazil), Santiago de Chile (Chile), Bogotá (Colombia), and Mexico City (Mexico) should provide necessary insight.

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