Eve and FlyBIS sign binding deal for up to 12 eVTOL aircraft

A smaller commitment than the 2022 letter

The binding agreement, announced on 4 November 2026, formalises a letter of intent the two companies signed in December 2022 for up to 40 aircraft. Aviacionline reported that the new commitment is less than a third of that figure, with only two units firm. FlyBIS is headquartered in Caxias do Sul and was founded in 2022 by partners of Brave Aviation, a Rio Grande do Sul executive aviation company that operates Embraer Phenom 100 aircraft.

Johann Bordais, Eve's chief executive, said the agreement showed customers moving "from early market development to concrete fleet commitments".

FlyBIS becomes Eve's second committed Brazilian operator. The first was Revo, of the Omni Helicopters International group, which signed a binding framework agreement in June 2025 for up to 50 eVTOLs valued at US$250 million to operate in São Paulo.

Eve's backlog stands at 2,800 eVTOLs, the company said when it named BETA Technologies as pusher motor supplier. The 12 aircraft in the FlyBIS deal are a small fraction of that total.

Routes planned for Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul

FlyBIS plans to deploy the aircraft in southern Brazil, starting in Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. Routes under study include coastal links between Navegantes, Balneário Camboriú and Florianópolis, and services to Gramado and Bento Gonçalves, tourism towns in the Rio Grande do Sul mountains. The two companies will keep working on network planning, operational readiness and infrastructure requirements.

Gustavo Zanettini, co-founder and chief executive of FlyBIS, called the signature "a significant milestone" for his company. He said it moved FlyBIS closer to a new form of regional and urban connectivity in southern Brazil.

Flight tests move into the transition phase

Eve's full-scale engineering prototype first flew on 19 December 2025 at Embraer's Gavião Peixoto facilities, Aviacionline reported. It has completed more than 70 flights, including the hover and low-speed phases, and is now in transition testing, which includes in-flight activation of the rear pusher propulsion system ahead of wing-borne flight, AeroTime reported. Eve will build six conforming prototypes for the certification campaign, which ANAC leads.

Certification timeline

Eve aims to complete the full transition before the end of the year, a target it set in its second-quarter results presentation in August. That presentation put crewed flights of the conforming prototypes in the second half of 2027, with certification and entry into service in 2028. At the time of the first flight, that milestone was planned for 2027, Aviacionline reported. In September, Brazil's Ministry of Ports and Airports convened aviation authorities, government representatives and Eve to discuss certification, vertiports, power supply and airspace integration.