Electra, UrbanV, and Signature Aviation announce strategic collaboration to unlock new regional mobility ecosystem

Electra and the UrbanV-Signature Aviation infrastructure platform, which combines UrbanV’s end-to-end vertiport development and operations capabilities with Signature Aviation’s global network of private aviation terminals, today announced the signing of a MOU. Together, companies will partner to build the foundation for a new regional mobility ecosystem that connects people and communities in fundamentally different ways by enabling direct, point-to-point air travel that expands beyond traditional aviation models.

This new model of travel, called Direct Aviation, integrates aircraft, infrastructure, and operations into a coordinated system to enable seamless travel between communities – and this new partnership supports three essential elements of the ecosystem. 

• Aircraft -- Electra’s EL9 Ultra Short 9-passenger aircraft, capable of taking off and landing within 150 feet with quiet, efficient performance 

• Infrastructure -- UrbanV’s next-generation vertiports and Signature’s global network of aviation facilities 

• Operations & Access -- A coordinated approach to integrating these assets into regional networks shaped by real-world demand 

Together, these elements enable the use of small, strategically located access points for the public’s increased access to regional air services. The collection of Ultra Short access points will form a distributed mesh network, embedded into existing communities, destinations, and transportation corridors. 

Diana Siegel, Vice President, Commercial Programs at Electra commented: “Direct Aviation is about giving people the freedom to travel from where they are to where they want to go without the constraints of traditional aviation models. Electra’s Direct Aviation Market Outlook shows that tens of millions of regional trips are already happening every day across distances where driving is inefficient and traditional aviation is often impractical. This partnership is a major milestone in bringing together the infrastructure, operational expertise, and global footprint needed to make regional mobility faster, simpler, and far more accessible.” 

Massimiliano Pane, Executive Director, UrbanV stated: “Advanced Air Mobility will scale only if the infrastructure is practical, phased, and deeply integrated with the aviation ecosystem that already exists today. Together with Signature Aviation, UrbanV is building an infrastructure platform with deep aviation roots: from FBO electrification and airport-based AAM operations to dedicated vertiport networks and strategically selected off-airport sites. Electra's ultra-short hybrid-electric aircraft adds a powerful regional mobility use case to this platform and reinforces our shared objective of making AAM deployable, accessible, and scalable.”

Derek DeCross, Chief Commercial Officer, Signature Aviation added: “The future of aviation will be defined by greater access, connectivity, and seamless guest experiences. This collaboration represents an exciting step toward building a new regional mobility ecosystem that brings together innovative aircraft, strategically located infrastructure, and operational expertise to unlock more direct and efficient ways to travel. By combining Electra’s breakthrough aircraft capabilities with UrbanV’s next-generation vertiport vision and Signature’s global network, we have an opportunity to help shape how regional air mobility is deployed and scaled around the world.”

Under the MOU, the parties will work jointly to identify and develop Ultra Short access points along core demand centers. The goal is to move efficiently toward site-specific term sheets that define how this new model is deployed in practice. 

The collaboration targets one of transportation’s most persistent challenges: the regional mobility gap. Today, many journeys between cities and regional destinations, especially trips of roughly 50 to 250 miles, which are poorly served by existing options. Travelers are often forced to choose between long drives through congestion or difficult terrain, indirect flights through major airport hubs, and travel times that are disproportionate to the distance traveled.

Electra’s just-released Direct Aviation Market Outlook underscores the scale of the opportunity, identifying more than 35 million regional passenger trips per day across the U.S. and more than 6,000 routes with over 1,000 travelers per day, demand that is largely unserved by commercial air travel today. Direct Aviation is designed to close this gap by connecting travelers more directly to where they need to go through intercity connectors, leisure launchpads, airport feeders, and small community service. Through this collaboration, the companies seek to: 

• Dramatically reduce travel times between regional destinations  

• Expand access to small communities underserved by traditional aviation  

• Simplify travel by eliminating unnecessary connections and ground transfers  

• Unlock new economic and social connectivity across regions  

The MOU is designed for repeatable deployment across a global network. By leveraging UrbanV’s growing portfolio of vertiport developments, Signature’s extensive global network, and Electra’s aircraft platform and operational model, the partnership creates a scalable model for expanding Direct Aviation across multiple geographies and use cases, including both passenger and cargo operations.