Electra and VertiPorts by Atlantic assessing New York sites

The initiative follows Electra’s successful demonstration at Downtown Skyport in Lower Manhattan.

Electra and VertiPorts by Atlantic, Atlantic Aviation’s advanced air mobility (AAM) subsidiary, have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore how different forms of infrastructure could unlock operations at new and existing sites in New York City.

“Electra’s ability to operate from dramatically smaller footprints presents exciting opportunities to reimagine how regional air transportation connects with urban environments,” said Kevin Cox, CEO of VertiPorts by Atlantic. “Together, we’re assessing how existing and emerging infrastructure can support a new generation of aircraft and provide travellers with faster, more convenient connections throughout the [US] Northeast and beyond.” 

The agreement will see the companies assess how infrastructure, like barges, piers or elevated surfaces, can support Electra’s ultra-short take-off and landing aircraft.

The initiative follows Electra’s successful demonstration at Downtown Skyport in Lower Manhattan and “first-of-its-kind” flights from a heliport on a commercial airport ramp at the Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport in southwestern Virginia, US.

“The demand already exists for regional travel that is faster and more convenient, and Direct Aviation is about meeting that demand,” said Diana Siegel, vice president, Commercial Programs at Electra. “By assessing how new and existing VertiPorts by Atlantic sites could accommodate the EL9 Ultra Short, we are taking a step toward connecting New York City with communities across the region and showing what Direct Aviation has to offer.” 

Direct Aviation is Electra’s model of point-to-point regional travel that works alongside the existing hub-and-spoke system with distributed access points closer to where journeys begin and end. Electra’s Direct Aviation Market Outlook, an analysis of nearly one billion domestic US trips, identified 35 million passenger trips each day across distances of 50 to 500 miles it could target with its aircraft.

Electra recently selected Springfield, Ohio, as the site of its first EL9 production facility. The planned $850m development is expected to create nearly 2,000 jobs and ultimately support production of up to 800 aircraft annually.