Air taxi developer Plana opens US offices to facilitate AAM activity

South Korean air taxi and longer-range advanced air mobility (AAM) company Plana has been expanding its business footprint of late, and as part of that is opening offices in the US to facilitate the certification process of its next-generation aircraft.

Making good on recent predictions its move to the US was nearing, Plana said last week that it had opened offices in Irvine, California, and farther north with a Silicon Valley location. One of the main purposes of the initiative, Plana said, was to plan for and eventually launch the certification process of its air taxi with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

Yet the choice of West Coast cities also reflects the company’s desire to be positioned at the heart of US AAM activity, and be able to establish relationships with potential sector partners.

“FAA certification is one of the most important processes for companies in the aerospace industry, and we plan to increase our interactions in the newly created AAM market with the establishment of a US subsidiary, as well as FAA certification,” said Plana CEO Braden Kim.

The move is the most recent development with which Plana has been creating headlines with next-generation aircraft activity. 

Read: EHang says air taxi is ‘more than 90%’ through China’s certification process

In February Plana signed agreements with US vertiport company Volatus Infrastructure to develop air taxi hubs in the US. Last month it struck a deal with an Osaka-based vertiport startup to create what they say will be Asia’s first AAM international corridor between South Korea and Japan. 

Two days earlier, Plana announced it was partnering with low-cost airline Jeju Air to develop air taxi services in South Korea, and work together in the government’s K‑UAM Grand Challenge seeking to promote and support AAM activities.

Plana is working on a six-rotor aircraft whose hybrid powertrain will have a range of more than 310 miles while flying at speeds of 190 mph, and carrying up to six passengers and a pilot. Plana hopes to extend that maximum distance to 500 miles for longer services, and plans to begin flight testing of a subscale eVTOL model this year.