Start-up operator UrbanLink Air Mobility has tentatively signed for a score of Crisalion Mobility’s in-development Integrity air taxi, adding to what could become a sizeable mixed fleet of electric aircraft.
Spain-based Crisalion disclosed on 4 December it signed a “cooperation agreement” to “pre-sell” 20 Integrity electric air taxis to South Florida’s UrbankLink , which has inked similar deals with several advanced air mobility (AAM) companies developing future flight technologies.
Crisalion says the deal brings the order backlog for its piloted five-passenger aircraft – targeted for service-entry in 2030 – to 145 units.
The start-up touts its air taxi design as being more stable in-flight than designs of competitors, thanks to its “FlyFree” propulsion and stability system featuring four quad-rotor units mounted to booms on a fixed wing.
Ed Wegel, UrbanLink’s chief executive, calls Crisalion “one of Europe’s most well-funded and expertly managed” electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) companies.
“The Integrity’s innovative design, which significantly reduces vibration while optimising range and speed, is truly impressive,” he says.
UrbanLink says it is poised to become the first independent operator not owned by an electric air taxi OEM – such as Archer Aviation, Beta Technologies and Joby Aviation – to operate such aircraft in the USA.
Industry consensus is that developers Archer Aviation, Beta Technologies and Joby Aviation will likely be the first OEMs to operate eVTOLs in the country.
UrbanLink envisions a “sustainable transportation network across air, sea and ground”, with Crisalion’s aircraft helping UrbanLink “strengthen its operations in Europe”, pointing specifically to potential air taxi markets in Italy and Spain.
The company emerged earlier this year after Wegel, formerly CEO of Florida-based charter carrier GlobalX Airlines, revealed plans to launch an air taxi operator in South Florida.
Miami-based UrbanLink has placed bets on several in-development aircraft. In October, the firm placed a tenative order for 20 of Eviation’s all-electric Alice commuter aircraft, and signed a 20-unit deal with now-struggling German developer Lilium.
The latter deal was a firm commitment that included scheduled pre-delivery payments, though Lilium’s ability to fulfil aircraft orders hinges on a return to solvency.
UrbanLink has also signalled interest in Traverse Aero’s autonomous hybrid eVTOL designed for cargo missions and Regent Craft’s in-development wing-in-ground-effect “seagliders”.
Elsewhere in the eVTOL sector, Eve Air Mobility disclosed on 3 December that it had secured a letter of intent for up to 50 air taxis from US-based operator Helicopters Inc.
The deal brings Embraer-backed Eve’s tentative order book to nearly 3,000 units strong.
