Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions is partnering with Singapore-based charter flight booking platform Ascent to accelerate its plans to support the launch of eVTOL aircraft operations in the Asia Pacific region. According to an announcement today, the alliance will support the use of Eve’s planned four-passenger eVTOL model by allowing clients to book whole aircraft or individual seats on a ride-sharing basis.

The two companies said they intend to establish a proof-of-concept plan to demonstrate how the aircraft could be brought into commercial service. Eve has indicated that operations could begin in 2026, once the aircraft has completed type certification.

According to Eve, it is looking to partner with local operators who might provide eVTOL ride capacity via Ascent's platform, with the manufacturer providing service and support capability, as its parent company Embraer does for operators of its business jets and airliners. "This is a new frontier for aerospace and an opportunity to rethink the relation between operators and OEMs," said Andre Stein, president, and CEO of Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions. "New eVTOL operations will require significant know-how and investment in training and infrastructure, [and] we are excited about developing this future with Ascent and our partners."

Ascent’s platform already includes aircraft, mainly helicopters, available through a network of six operators that include Inaec Aviation, SFS Aviation, Advance Aviation, and seaplane operator AirTrav. Most of its current capacity is based in the Philippines and Thailand, and the company is looking to expand its network to other countries.

“Armed with Ascent’s data and platform, we will be well-positioned to enter into the Asia Pacific market,” said Stein. “On our end, we are committed to supporting Ascent’s growth and its ambition to democratize air mobility.”

The partners also said that Eve’s planned urban air traffic management (UATM) services, being developed in conjunction with fellow Embraer subsidiary Atech, will be integrated into the Ascent platform, “to ensure secure and scalable operations.”

According to Eve, its UATM technology is intended to support operators with eVTOL aircraft fleets, as well as air taxi operations centers, pilots, vertiports, and air navigation service providers. It sees Ascent's platform as a means for sharing data with others parts of what it characterizes as the urban air mobility ecosystem.

Ascent founder and CEO Lionel Sinai-Sinelnikoff describes his company as an air mobility integrator, with capacity to support not only air taxi services using eVTOL aircraft but also emergency medical and cargo delivery missions. He told FutureFlight that having its platform integrated with Eve's UATM services, will enable Ascent to contribute to the "orchestration" of safe eVTOL aircraft operations at scale.

Eve has not mentioned any specific operators in the region that it expects to provide flights using its eVTOL aircraft. The company recently announced that helicopter operators Halo and Helisul Aviation have provisionally agreed to buy up to 250 of its eVTOL aircraft, with plans to operate these, respectively, in the U.S. and UK and in Brazil.

Halo is part of the business aviation services group Directional Aviation’s OneSky Flight division. Directional Aviation’s principal Kenn Ricci is also behind a special purpose acquisition group called Zanite, with which Embraer is in talks regarding a possible merger for Eve.

In March 2020, Ascent announced a partnership with Urban Aeronautics about the planned introduction of its CityHawk VTOL aircraft in the Asia Pacific market. The Israel-based company has been raising further funding to support a development program that is expected to see flight testing begin in early 2023.

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