Beta Technologies has focused recent sales of its Alia CX300 electric airplane on aeromedical and cargo customers as high fuel prices continue to squeeze operators, founder and CEO Kyle Clark told investors on Monday. He also predicted that Beta’s Alia 250 will be the first eVTOL to achieve FAA type certification, though he did not specify a current target for that milestone.

Airbus appears likely to launch a stretched variant of the A350 to compete more head-on with Boeing’s still uncertified 777-9 in the large widebody space. However, when it will pull the trigger on the program and how quickly the twin-engined jet can enter service are open questions.

Three years after Comac first displayed a model of its CE-25A electric aircraft, the Chinese airframer may have built the first full-scale example. Photos posted on the Weibo social media platform on October 28 by Chinese automotive influencer Han Lu appear to show a ground demonstrator version of the 19-seat aircraft on a taxiway. 

ITA Airways has signed an agreement with Archer Aviation to develop electric air taxi services in Italy with Archer’s four-passenger Midnight eVTOL aircraft, the companies announced on October 29. California-based Archer said the Italian flag carrier is its first European airline partner, after deals in the U.S. and the UAE.

VerdeGo Aero has announced that its VH-4T hybrid-electric powertrains delivered earlier this year are now approaching first flight with an undisclosed airframer. The U.S. company, which since April has delivered several of the 400-kilowatt units for ground testing, is raising fresh capital as it scales up production capacity over the next 12 to 18 months.

Wisk Aero has opened a 100-by-100-foot vertiport at Hollister Municipal Airport (KCVH) in California to test landing and navigation systems for autonomous aircraft, using surrogate helicopters and its pilotless Gen 6 eVTOL air taxi. Construction began in August, and Wisk held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the site on October 29. The company calls it one of the first U.S. vertiports at a public airport built for both piloted and autonomous aircraft.

A year after completing its first flight, NASA’s X-59 supersonic demonstrator has left California for a cross-country trip to Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where it will be on static display at the agency’s Max Power aerospace expo and airshow. Designed and built at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, the Quesst X-plane initially took to the skies on Oct. 28, 2025.