Launch of Vertical Aerospace air taxi delays service launch by one year

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Vertical Aerospace, the Bristol-based flying taxi start-up, has delayed its entry into service by a year to 2026, in the latest sign that the revolution in “urban air mobility” is taking longer than expected to get airborne.

Vertical, which is listed on the Nasdaq, told investors earlier this month that it now aims to have its vehicle certified by Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) “by the end of 2026.” It’s the second time the company has delayed certification since April 2022, when it moved from 2024 to 2025.

“Attempting to predict a date with certainty that is several years away is challenging and achieving it depends on agreement with regulators on compliance methods for new technologies,” said the company’s founder and chief executive, Stephen Fitzpatrick, in a statement. a letter to shareholders.

Fitzpatrick cited factors beyond the company’s control such as upcoming testing of its technology for compliance with the CAA among the reasons for the decision.

“We believe the industry as a whole will experience some timeline corrections and we are already seeing signs of colleagues recognizing this,” he said in the letter.

Similarly, certification dates for other electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) startups have slipped; Germany’s Lilium last year extended its date from 2024 to 2025. The company told investors in a letter this week that it was seeking raise $250 million to help fund the development of its air taxi vehicle.

Fitzpatrick, who is best known in the UK for founding energy supplier Ovo Energy, told the Financial Times: ‘All airline authorities are motivated but it is clear there is a lot of work for them to do, including developing internal expertise capabilities to certify these vehicles.

For anyone active in aerospace, there was a “major hurdle to overcome,” he added. “Not to prove the technology works, but to prove it never fails.”

The “regulatory landscape is still being defined,” said Rami Abdel Aziz, manager of aviation consultancy IBA. “It will take time to establish a comprehensive guide for eVTOLS.”

Despite the regulatory uncertainty, some companies, including the German Volocopter, are still aiming for certification as early as next year. Volocopter plans to have operational service in time for the Paris Olympic Games in 2024.

The milestone readjustment underscores the challenges that still need to be addressed before the promise of urban air mobility can become a reality. The sector has attracted billions of dollars as investors have embraced the dream of fast and affordable transportation to the skies, despite the absence of certified vehicles.

Shares of air taxi startups that went public as special purpose vehicles in 2021 have all declined as some of the initial investor enthusiasm fizzled amid global economic uncertainties.

Vertical’s shares have dropped 80% since the company’s Nasdaq listing in December, valuing the company at $386 million.

Industry advocates, however, insist that sentiment around the sector has shifted away from asking whether electric aviation will ever focus on the technological advance it has achieved.

Vertical has partnered with companies such as Rolls-Royce, Leonardo and Honeywell, to build its VX4 vehicle, which will have a range of up to 100 miles, a cruising speed of 150 mph and a four-passenger capacity.

Vertical has been flying full-scale prototypes since 2018. It completed its first piloted test flight last year and plans a high-speed piloted flight over the summer.

In March, the CAA gave Vertical a so-called “Design Organization Approval,” a key step required for type certification, the first for the regulator to grant such an approval to an eVTOL manufacturer.

The company is funded through much of 2024, but plans to raise additional capital this year. It had £104m in cash and cash equivalents at the end of the first quarter, the letter read.