Vertical Aerospace has received AS9100 certification for the quality management system that covers its design and production work, and the Bristol-based developer of the Valo electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft believes it is the first eVTOL developer to achieve the standard. The British Standards Institution (BSI) awarded the certificate after an independent assessment that closed a year-long quality improvement programme at the company.

In a press release dated November 12, 2026, and announced on World Quality Day, Vertical said the certification confirms that its quality management system across design and production meets the standards used by manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing. The company said it gives airline customers and operating partners independent assurance about its future aircraft production and delivery, and supports opportunities where AS9100 is required. The certificate comes as Vertical prepares to build its first certification-conforming aircraft, and after it announced a review of strategic alternatives on September 24, 2026.

What the AS9100 standard covers

AS9100 was developed by the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG) and builds on ISO 9001 with requirements for aviation, space and defence. The IAQG states that the standard can be used “at all levels of the supply chain by organizations around the world,” and that it is intended to improve quality, schedule and cost performance by reducing or eliminating organisation-unique requirements.

For Vertical, the certificate is the result of a year-long quality improvement programme that ended with BSI’s independent assessment. Stuart Simpson, chief executive of Vertical Aerospace, said:

“We are leading the way in electric aviation by holding ourselves to the highest standards in aerospace.”

Simpson said achieving AS9100 means the company’s quality management system is certified against the same standard used by established manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing. “It is what our customers expect,” he said, adding that this is the discipline Vertical is bringing to Valo and to building a company customers can depend on.

Giancarlo Silvestri, Global Head of Aerospace and Defence (Assurance) at BSI, called the accredited certification “an important step in Vertical’s development as an aerospace manufacturer,” and said it gives airline customers and operating partners greater confidence in the quality management foundations behind the company’s ambitions.

A quality certificate alongside the regulator’s approvals

The AS9100 certificate comes from BSI. Vertical’s design organisation approval comes from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). In its release of March 30, 2023, Vertical said the CAA had issued it a Design Organisation Approval (DOA), number UK.21J.1001, the first DOA the CAA had issued to an eVTOL manufacturer. The CAA’s assessment for that approval covered Vertical’s procedures, quality management system, technical workforce competence, and facilities and equipment.

The same release said UK and European companies need a DOA to hold a Type Certificate, which Vertical described in July 2024 as a prerequisite for commercial service. On July 10, 2024, the company said the CAA had expanded the scope of the approval so that its own engineers could certify compliance in more technical areas, including further flight control, avionics and electrical systems activities. That release also said the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the CAA had agreed how they would collaborate on certification, setting up common standards and concurrent certification and validation of the VX4. Vertical unveiled Valo, which succeeds the VX4 prototype, on December 10, 2025.

Where the Valo programme stands

Valo is a piloted, four-passenger eVTOL whose cabin can expand to six seats, according to the December 2025 launch release, which gave a range of up to 100 miles at speeds of up to 150 mph. That release targeted certification in 2028, working with the CAA and EASA, and planned seven certification aircraft built in the UK.

The company’s more recent statements give 2029. In a release dated September 25, 2026, announcing the opening of its Aircraft Assembly Centre at Cotswold Airport, Vertical said the £1.5 million facility would build certification-conforming aircraft for compliance and verification testing with the CAA, targeting Type Certification in 2029. Assembly of the first certification-conforming aircraft is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2027.

After certification, the centre is expected to support initial customer deliveries, with capacity to assemble more than 25 Valo aircraft a year in the early-production phase. Higher-volume manufacturing will take place at a separate facility, and Vertical said it expected to announce plans for it in the fourth quarter of 2026.

In flight testing, Vertical said in its H1 2026 business update that in April it became the second company globally to complete a piloted transition flight in a full-scale tiltrotor eVTOL, and that it flew five consecutive days of piloted transition demonstrations at the Farnborough International Airshow in front of more than 140,000 visitors. The company has said it remains on track to complete its Critical Design Review by year-end 2026. On October 16, 2026, it announced supplier agreements for seating and inertial reference systems with ANH Structure and Northrop Grumman LITEF.

Financing, customers and the strategic review

On September 24, 2026, Vertical announced a review of strategic alternatives, including potential strategic and financial partnerships, and retained Jefferies LLC as financial advisor. It said operations, the certification programme and commercial commitments would continue during the review, that no timetable had been set, and that there was no assurance the review would result in any transaction or outcome. The company said it would not disclose developments unless its board approves a specific course of action, decides further disclosure is appropriate, or disclosure is required by law.

That announcement followed approximately $100 million of new financing and the appointment of former Airbus Commercial Aircraft chief executive Fabrice Brégier as chair. In its H1 2026 business update, Vertical reported cash and cash equivalents of approximately $134 million (£99 million) as of August 13, 2026, and expected net cash outflows of approximately $150 million (£110 million) over the following 12 months. It said short-term liquidity, remaining financing proceeds and anticipated future draws were expected to provide at least 12 months of runway.

Vertical reports about 1,500 pre-orders for Valo from customers on four continents, including American Airlines, Avolon, Bristow, GOL and Japan Airlines, and says certain customer obligations are expected to be fulfilled through third-party agreements. The company, headquartered in Bristol, UK, works with Honeywell, Syensqo and Sonaca and develops its own battery and propeller technology.

Archer Aviation and Formula 1 have announced a multi-year partnership to explore flying VIPs and fans to and from Grand Prix circuits aboard Archer’s Midnight electric air taxi, including dedicated landing points at circuits and air taxi services within F1’s hospitality and ticketing offerings.

Archer announced the agreement in a press release dated November 12, 2026. The partnership covers select Grands Prix that align with what Archer calls key commercial markets in the US, the Middle East, Asia and Europe. The release gives no financial terms and no date for a first air taxi flight at a race, and it describes the work as something the partners will explore.

What the partners plan to study

According to the release, the two companies will look at dedicated air taxi drop-off and pick-up locations at circuits, and at including air taxi services in F1’s hospitality and ticketing offerings. Once Archer’s commercial electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) operations launch in F1 markets, fans could skip traffic between major airports, business hubs and other key destinations, Archer said.

Emily Prazer, Chief Commercial Officer of Formula 1, said in the release:

“Innovation is at the heart of Formula 1, and Archer shares our passion for pushing boundaries and exploring what is possible.”

Adam Goldstein, Archer’s founder and CEO, pointed to the size of the sport’s audience, saying “With 830 million fans worldwide, Formula 1 gives us a global audience of prospective passengers”. He added that motorsport and aerospace share the same engineering DNA, and that the companies hope to show how innovation on the ground and in the sky could combine for fans at the track.

Archer also drew a technical comparison. It said the power-to-weight demands of eVTOL aircraft are comparable to those of F1, and that, as in an F1 car, its electric propulsion, advanced composites and aerodynamics are engineered as one system.

Where Archer’s planned networks meet the race calendar

Archer said its planned US air taxi networks map closely to F1 race locations, including Miami and Texas, where it has unveiled planned infrastructure networks. Its Texas plan, announced on October 23, 2026, includes an Austin network connecting Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and Austin Executive Airport with the F1 Circuit Helipad at the Circuit of the Americas, which Archer said would put Formula 1 United States Grand Prix races minutes away. The same plan covers Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston, and Archer said Midnight could turn 60 to 90 minute ground trips into 10 to 20 minute flights.

In South Florida, Archer’s Miami network plan of December 2025 named Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix, among the sites whose existing helipads will be prepared for electric operations. That network would also link Miami International Airport (MIA), Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and Palm Beach International Airport (PBI).

The partnership already has a public side. Archer displayed Midnight at the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in Austin, October 22 to 25, in the Fan Zone and F1 Paddock as an Official Supporter of F1, and the aircraft will be displayed again at the Las Vegas Grand Prix and the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix later in 2026, according to the release. Archer’s third-quarter results release of November 9, 2026, had already said the two companies were forming a multi-year strategic alliance.

Where Midnight stands

Midnight is a piloted electric air taxi that carries up to four passengers and has 12 total engines and propellers, according to Archer. In its third-quarter update and FAA certificate news, Archer said Midnight had received a Market Survey Special Airworthiness Certificate from the FAA, which the company expects to allow operations in Los Angeles. The company said it is preparing to carry passengers under the US Department of Transportation’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) and for the LA28 Olympic Games.

The eIPP is the framework for Archer’s planned Texas and Florida operations. In March 2026, the Department of Transportation and the FAA selected Archer’s partners in Texas, Florida and New York for the program, and Archer said at the time that it planned early Midnight operations in those states as soon as the second half of 2026. Archer, BETA and Macquarie Capital also launched the ACES charging consortium, which aims to electrify up to 250 air taxi sites across America by 2030 and is working with the Texas Department of Transportation on charging to support eIPP operations in Texas.

Archer reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $5.1 million and a net loss of $274.6 million, with total liquidity of $1.4 billion. The company said its acquisition of Boeing’s Wisk, Insitu and SkyGrid businesses is nearing close, subject to certain regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

What the announcement leaves open

The release names no race where air taxi transfers would be offered first, and gives no pricing or start date. It ties services for fans to the launch of Archer’s commercial eVTOL operations in F1 markets.

Archer’s forward-looking statements list aircraft design and specifications, development and certification timing, air taxi network plans including the eIPP, and the expected benefits of collaborations such as the one with Formula 1 among the matters that could differ from its plans.

SkyDrive has taken new investment from Tobu Railway Co. Ltd. and Tobu Top Tours Co. Ltd., making the Tobu Group its fifth Japanese railway partner and giving the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) developer a base for vertiports, ticketing and tour packages in the Kanto region around Tokyo ahead of the commercial services it plans for 2028.

SkyDrive announced the funding, made through a third-party share allotment, in a press release dated November 12, 2026, from Toyota City, Japan. The company did not disclose the amount. The partners say they aim to speed up commercial eVTOL deployment in Kanto by combining Tobu Group’s transportation and tourism assets with SkyDrive’s aircraft development and operational expertise.

What each Tobu company brings

The release sets out three areas of work. Tobu Railway will use its rail network, regional presence and tourism assets, especially in the Nikko area, to establish and promote vertiports. The partners will also use Tobu Railway’s “SAKULaLa” common biometric authentication platform, which Tobu Railway developed jointly with Hitachi, Ltd., for identity verification and boarding pass clearance.

Tobu Top Tours will act as an operational connector, using its destination management expertise and municipal networks to design new business models and to package secondary transport. The partnership covers business development and ground infrastructure planning across Kanto.

Tomohiro Fukuzawa, founder and CEO of SkyDrive, said the company is “thrilled and deeply encouraged that Tobu Railway and Tobu Top Tours share our vision for the future.” He said eVTOLs need more than aircraft, namely connections to transit networks, vertiports and regional travel experiences, and that SkyDrive and the Tobu Group “will work toward launching commercial services in 2028 to make air mobility a daily choice.”

A rail-first network strategy

SkyDrive has built its domestic plans around railway operators, working with major Japanese railway companies on urban networks that combine train travel with eVTOL flights. Before Tobu, SkyDrive had partnership agreements with four railway companies, each tied to specific routes: Kintetsu Group Holdings in the Ise-Shima area; Osaka Metro, with its “Osaka Diamond Route” linking four key locations in Osaka; East Japan Railway Company (JR East), for routes between Morioka and AZUMA FARM KOIWAI; and Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu), in Oita Prefecture, including the Beppu and Yufuin hot spring areas. SkyDrive says it has worked with these operators on feasibility studies and flight demonstrations.

In October 2025, ahead of the Japan Mobility Show 2025 in Tokyo, SkyDrive announced an exhibit built around a boardable mockup of its SD-05 aircraft, entered through a touch-and-go automatic ticket gate, alongside panels showing planned flight routes. The company said at the time that the aim of the railway partnerships was convenient travel combining rail and urban air mobility, along with regional development and public acceptance of the technology. The Tobu agreement brings that model to Kanto.

Where SkyDrive stands

SkyDrive, based in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, began testing eVTOL prototypes in 2014 and was incorporated in 2018. In 2019, it says, it became the first company in Japan to fly a crewed eVTOL. It flew uncrewed demonstration flights at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan, and says it is now working through certification steps toward type certification. It is commercializing with local partners and municipalities in 10 countries.

Manufacturing rests on an automotive partnership. SkyDrive and Suzuki Motor Company signed a commercial and technology partnership in March 2022, SkyDrive set up the manufacturing subsidiary SkyWorks in September 2023, and production began in March 2024 at a Suzuki Group plant in Iwata City, Shizuoka Prefecture. Suzuki has also invested in SkyDrive and supports its business development in India, and Naoki Ishii, Representative Director and Executive Vice President of Suzuki, was appointed an independent SkyDrive director.

The Tobu funding is one of several announcements SkyDrive has made since late October 2026. Its news page lists a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with six Singapore technology companies on advanced air mobility research and development on October 29, 2026, and an MOU with Goyang Special City and Verty on commercial eVTOL deployment in South Korea on November 4, 2026. In Kanto, the Tobu partnership is meant to support SkyDrive’s 2028 service plans for the SD-05.