Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

Airbus is pausing plans to bring its CityAirbus NextGen eVTOL aircraft to market. Announcing growth in sales of <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2025-01-27/airbus-helicopter-deliveries-orders-climb-during-2024">conventional helicopters </a>during 2024, the European aerospace group on Monday said it is deferring plans for a commercial launch following a rethink of both the business case and technology requirements.
“We launched this prototype four years ago with the objective to be in position to launch a new program before the end of the decade," Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters explained. "It has been clearly instrumental in advancing our understanding of technologies which are not only relevant for the urban air mobility market but for all our portfolio. At the same time, we see today—and that’s been the result of the strategic review that we performed at the end of 2024—that the conditions to launch a new program are not necessarily there.”
Despite applying the brakes to the <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2023-03-07/assembly-close-first-cityairbus-nextgen-evtol-prototype?amp=&amp;qt-latest_trending=1">CityAirbus program</a>, Even said the manufacturer remains firmly committed to innovation. Last year, the CityAirbus NextGen eVTOL made its first flight as did the high-speed compound rotorcraft Racer, which exceeded its 220-knot target speed by flying to 227 knots.
Work continues with the three research vehicles, DemonstratorLab, PioneerLab, and DisruptiveLab. “We are convinced that innovation is always the best way to continue to bring value to our customers,” Even commented.
<h2>Battery Performance is a Barrier</h2>
The Airbus engineering team appears to view limitations in available battery technology as a barrier to progress with current eVTOL plans. “The condition to launch a new program, from the technology side…is [first] to be able to perform the mission,” Even stated. “The minimum level of performance and the mission that we see to enter into service…[is] to transport [passengers] for a mission of 80 to 100 kilometers. We clearly see on the battery side the need to continue to improve the performance to reach what we consider the minimum level of performance and mission. It’s really the battery.”
Although some flights with the first CityAirbus prototype will still be made this year at the company’s Donauwörth facility in Germany, other program development activity will be suspended. The aerospace group has previously indicated it had ambitions to bring the four-passenger eVTOL model into commercial service by around 2030.
“The urban air mobility economy and launch of a new program depend on many factors—regulation, maturity of the business model, but also maturity of the technology,” Even concluded. “We consider on that perspective, and particularly on some of the key technologies, that some of them need to evolve to be in a position to launch a new program.”
Aerospace rival Boeing still retains a stake in the advanced air mobility sector through its <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/news-article/2023-06-01/boeing-takes-full-control-autonomous-evtol-developer-wisk-aero">ownership of Wisk</a>, which is developing a fully autonomous eVTOL aircraft. Embraer spin-off <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/video/embraers-eve-air-mobility-building-full-scale-evtol-prototypes">Eve Air Mobility</a> is also developing a four-passsenger eVTOL model. Textron's eAviation division is working on an eVTOL program called Nexus, with a <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2024-09-24/nexus-evtol-progressing-textron-eaviation">prototype now being built </a>at a facility in Wichita.
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News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

Airbus Pauses Plans to Bring CityAirbus NextGen eVTOL Aircraft to Market

Decision was announced as the European manufacturer announced strong growth in helicopter sales

Airbus indicated that limitations around battery performance were a key factor in its decision to pause the four-passenger CityAirbus NextGen eVTOL program.

Airbus Pauses Plans to Bring NextGen eVTOL Aircraft to Market

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