Eve converts FlyBIS interest into binding deal for up to 12 eVTOLs

Eve Air Mobility has converted a four-year-old letter of intent with FlyBIS Aviation into a binding agreement covering up to 12 electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, of which only two are firm orders. The deal, confirmed on November 4, 2026, includes purchase rights for ten additional units. The arithmetic is worth noting. In 2022, the two companies signed a letter of intent under which FlyBIS, an aspiring Brazilian operator, would acquire up to 40 of Eve's eVTOLs. The binding contract that eventually emerged covers a maximum of 12. Early-market announcements, once again, have met a smaller reality.

The reduction is not unusual in this segment, but it is instructive. Letters of intent in the advanced air mobility sector routinely exceed what operators ultimately commit to on paper, and Eve's own conversion track record now offers a data point: 40 promised, 12 bound, two firm. That ratio — 5 percent firm against the original headline figure — is the kind of number investors and lessors will file away.

Where will the aircraft fly?

FlyBIS plans to deploy the eVTOLs in Southern Brazil, initially connecting destinations in the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. Potential routes under consideration include coastal cities such as Navegantes, Balneário Camboriú and Florianópolis in Santa Catarina, along with services to tourism destinations in Rio Grande do Sul's mountain region, including Gramado and Bento Gonçalves.

Johann Bordais, CEO of Eve, framed the agreement as evidence of market maturation. "This binding agreement is an important step in our relationship with FlyBIS and demonstrates how our customers are progressing from early market development to concrete fleet commitments," Bordais said. He added that "Southern Brazil harbors high demand for urban air mobility connections as it combines strong tourism and business activity."

That demand claim is, for now, an assertion. No traffic study, passenger forecast or revenue figure accompanies it. What is concrete is the geography: a coastal corridor and a wine-country mountain region, both tourism-heavy, both plausible candidates for short-haul vertical connectivity.

What still stands between contract and service?

Both companies are working on entry-into-service requirements, including:

• network planning
• operational readiness
• infrastructure
• integration of eVTOL services into the broader transportation ecosystem

Gustavo Zanettini, co-founder and CEO of FlyBIS, called the signing "a significant milestone" that "moves us closer to introducing a new form of regional and urban connectivity in Southern Brazil." He cited Eve's integrated approach — aircraft paired with services and operational support — as a foundation for future operations. FlyBIS remains an aspiring operator; the agreement does not change that status.

How far along is the aircraft itself?

Eve's full-scale engineering prototype has completed more than 70 flights since its first flight, including the hover and low-speed phases of the flight-test campaign. The company is now expanding the aircraft's flight envelope through transition-flight testing, including in-flight activation of the rear pusher propulsion system as it advances toward wing-borne flight.

Seventy flights is meaningful progress, and transition testing is the technically demanding phase. Still, the prototype count describes hover and low-speed work; wing-borne flight remains ahead, and no certification date appears in the announcement. What is flying and what is promised should be kept in separate columns.

The agreement gives Eve a second committed customer in its home market and gives Southern Brazil a tentative route map. Whether two firm aircraft become twelve — or forty — will depend on the flight-test campaign and on FlyBIS building an ecosystem that, today, exists mostly on paper.