The FAA–BETA “Other Terms Agreements,” setting safety rules, limits, and reporting for Vermont airspace remain unsigned—and are key to everything that follows.

by Compass Vermont

South Burlington’s BETA Technologies was selected for seven of eight projects under the federal government’s new eVTOL Integration Pilot Program — more than any other electric aircraft manufacturer in the country. The program could put BETA’s planes in Vermont skies as early as this summer, flying medical cargo across Lake Champlain.

The news landed on March 9, hours after BETA filed its first annual report as a publicly traded company. Those filings paint a more complicated picture than the headline suggests.

What the Program Is

The eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) is a new federal initiative from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration. It was created under a June 2025 executive order titled “Unleashing American Drone Dominance.” The FAA received more than 30 proposals and selected eight projects spanning 26 states.

The program allows electric aircraft that have not yet received full FAA type certification to operate in live national airspace — not in a testing sandbox, but at commercial airports alongside regular air traffic. Participants sign Other Transaction Agreements (OTAs) directly with the FAA that define what each company can and cannot do. Those agreements are still being finalized. Operations could begin within 90 days of signing.

The FAA has called these aircraft the first new category of civil aviation since helicopters in the 1940s.

BETA’s Position

BETA was selected to participate in seven of the eight eIPP projects — more than any other electric aircraft developer. The only project that does not include BETA is the City of Albuquerque’s autonomous cargo operation with Reliable Robotics, which uses a different aircraft platform and is the only city-led (rather than state-led) project in the program.

BETA’s seven selections span at least 10 states and include projects led by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Texas Department of Transportation, the Utah DOT, the Pennsylvania DOT, and state agencies in Louisiana, Florida, and North Carolina. Its closest competitor, California-based Joby Aviation, was selected for five of the eight projects.

BETA founder and CEO Kyle Clark told investors the eIPP was a “huge opportunity” that effectively advances the company’s entire business model by more than a year.

The Vermont Mission

In Vermont and northern New York, BETA will partner with Metro Aviation and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to fly medical cargo across Lake Champlain. Metro Aviation, a Louisiana-based medical helicopter company, already operates at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington. Under the eIPP, it would use BETA’s ALIA aircraft to move equipment and blood products to hospitals in northern New York.

Vermont Transportation Secretary Joe Flynn wrote a letter of support for the project in December, stating that BETA’s technology could “fundamentally reshape rural connectivity.”

Metro Aviation Vice President Todd Stanberry has described the initial work as “proof of concept” — but said the company plans to pursue these flights regardless of federal selection. BETA’s approach starts with its conventional takeoff and landing aircraft (CTOL), with vertical takeoff and landing operations to follow as the regulatory framework matures.

What the Financial Filings Show

BETA’s eIPP selection was announced the same day as its first annual report as a public company. The numbers deserve careful reading.

Revenue is growing. BETA reported $35.6 million in full-year 2025 revenue, up from $15.1 million in 2024 — a 136% year-over-year increase. The company exceeded its own guidance of $29 million to $33 million. Fourth-quarter revenue of $11.1 million beat analyst estimates by roughly $3.1 million.

The net loss was $745.9 million. That number, however, requires context. A $379.6 million non-cash loss on the issuance of convertible preferred stock — an accounting charge tied to the difference between the fair value and purchase price of preferred shares issued during private financing rounds — accounts for more than half of the headline loss. The operating loss was $372.7 million, which reflects actual spending on research, development, manufacturing scale-up, and administration.

Cash on hand is substantial: $1.71 billion as of December 31, 2025, bolstered by the $1.1 billion IPO and a $300 million investment from GE Aerospace.

The backlog stands at 891 aircraft worth approximately $3.5 billion, of which 289 are firm orders and 602 are options. Customers include UPS, Air New Zealand, Metro Aviation, and, as of this month, Surf Air Mobility for service in Hawaii.

The 2026 outlook is where the picture shifts. BETA guided for $39 million to $43 million in 2026 revenue — roughly 15% growth, a sharp deceleration from 136% in 2025. The projected Adjusted EBITDA loss for 2026 is between $305 million and $395 million, wider than the $304.1 million loss in 2025. No new firm aircraft orders were reported in the fourth quarter.

In plain terms: the company has enough cash to sustain its current burn rate for several years, but its near-term revenue is coming from motors, engineering services, and charging infrastructure — not from aircraft sales.

What the Program Doesn’t Do

The eIPP allows pre-certified aircraft to fly revenue-generating missions under controlled conditions. It does not accelerate the underlying FAA type certification process. No next-generation electric aircraft has been certified for general commercial use.

The distinction matters because the program’s three-year operational window generates data and public visibility, but full commercialization — hundreds of aircraft delivered to paying customers — depends on certification milestones that remain on their own timeline.

There is also a transparency question. Participants in the eIPP are required to share operational data that the FAA can use to develop future regulations. However, companies can designate data as commercially sensitive and shield it from public disclosure. If the program is intended to build the regulatory framework for an entirely new category of aircraft, the scope of that carve-out will determine how much of the most valuable data actually reaches public policy.

Who Pays for What

One practical detail that has received little attention: the FAA coordinates airspace approvals under the eIPP, but all infrastructure costs — charging stations, ground equipment, vertiport buildout — are borne by participants themselves. The federal government is not funding the physical infrastructure.

That raises questions specific to Vermont. BETA has been expanding its proprietary charging network across the United States and internationally, with 107 total sites as of year-end 2025, 57 of them active. In Michigan, the company partnered with Capital Region International Airport to install the state’s first electric aircraft charger. Some of that infrastructure has been supported through state-level Advanced Air Mobility activation funds.

For the Lake Champlain medical mission, the question is straightforward: what is the breakdown of private investment versus public subsidy at Vermont airports? BETA holds a long-term lease at Burlington International Airport where its 188,500-square-foot manufacturing facility is located. The terms of any airport infrastructure agreements related to the eIPP would be a matter of public record.

The Workforce Picture

BETA employed roughly 900 people as of mid-2025 and added 300 in the months that followed, putting its current workforce at approximately 1,200, with about 90% based in Vermont. The company has publicly stated plans to add roughly 1,000 more positions in the next 18 months. A company spokesperson told VTDigger that 75% of the most recent 300 hires were Vermonters, and that entry-level wages range from $26 to $32 per hour, with engineering salaries exceeding $100,000.

Those claims are significant in a state contending with an aging workforce and net outmigration of young professionals. They are also, at this point, company-reported figures from a facility tour rather than independently verified data. State labor statistics on transportation manufacturing wages, educational partnership records, and the company’s own SEC filings on headcount and compensation would provide a more complete picture over time.

What to Watch

The eIPP has a three-year operational window beginning summer 2026. Several developments will determine whether this program delivers on its promise for Vermont:

The OTA terms. The specific Other Transaction Agreements between BETA and the FAA — defining operational envelopes, safety thresholds, and reporting requirements for Vermont airspace — have not yet been signed. Those documents will be the foundation for everything that follows.

The certification timeline. BETA’s H500A electric engine is on track for FAA type certification in the first half of 2026, according to the company. Full aircraft certification is a longer process. Any slippage affects the transition from eIPP missions to full commercial operations.

The infrastructure funding trail. As BETA installs charging equipment at Vermont airports and expands its manufacturing footprint, the public-private cost split will become clearer through airport authority records, state transportation budgets, and municipal planning documents.

The data disclosure. How much of the operational data generated by the Lake Champlain medical flights and other eIPP missions reaches the public — versus being shielded as proprietary — will shape whether this program serves as a genuine regulatory template or primarily a business development tool for participating companies.

The competitive landscape. BETA’s 7-of-8 selection is the strongest position of any manufacturer in the eIPP, but it is not operating alone. Joby Aviation held $1.4 billion in cash and short-term investments at the end of 2025 and was selected for five projects. Archer, Wisk, Electra, and Elroy Air are all in the program. The sector’s consolidation dynamics over the next three years will affect Vermont’s position.

BETA Technologies has secured an extraordinary position in a first-of-its-kind federal program. The company’s flight-test record, vertical integration, and Vermont manufacturing base are genuine competitive advantages that no other eIPP participant matches at this scale.

The open questions are financial and structural. The company is burning more than $300 million a year in operating losses against $35.6 million in revenue. The eIPP provides a path to revenue-generating flights before full certification, but the infrastructure costs fall on the company and its partners, the data-sharing rules have significant gaps, and no electric aircraft of this kind has cleared the full FAA certification process.

For Vermont, the stakes are local. Roughly 1,200 jobs, a major manufacturing facility at the state’s largest airport, a battery plant in St. Albans, and plans to add another 1,000 positions within 18 months. The documents that will tell the full story — the OTA terms, the infrastructure cost agreements, the state labor data, the quarterly SEC filings — are either public or will be soon.