Two of the AAM segment’s most prominent players, Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation, are joining together with the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Transportation (DoT) to participate in the White House eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) that will aim to establish commercial partnerships on a trial basis with localities across the U.S.
Established under the auspices of the Donald J. Trump administration’s Establishing Drone Dominance executive order, the eIPP initiative is envisioned as allowing eVTOL operators and communities to familiarize themselves, and garner important experience with, the dynamics and requirements of commercial air taxi operations on a small scale ahead of planned aircraft certification and the eventual ramp up of commercialization. Archer has indicated that it is in talks to potentially forge a partnership with United Airlines under the program, with U.S city governments being probable partners for both contractors.
