It's not a good idea to tell United Airlines that electric taxis are going to fly to and from major airports.
On Thursday the airliner announced a $15 million investment into electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle startup Eve Air Mobility along with a condition for 200 of the firm's so-called flying taxis. United is betting big on these electric aircraft to change air travel in the city. It's not clear whether that bet will pay off.
Another $10 million was invested in the firm by United. The United had previously agreed to buy 100 aircraft from the same company. United hopes to have first deliveries of aircraft by the year 2026. There are options for another 200 aircraft.
Michael Leskinen, President of United Airline's ventures said that the agreement with Eve highlights their confidence in the urban air mobility market and serves as another important benchmark towards their goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. We believe our clean energy technologies will change air travel as we know it and serve as the catalyst for the aviation industry to move towards a sustainable future.
According to United, Eve's design favors safety, efficiency, reliability and certifiability and has a range of less than 60 miles. United claims that Eve's electric design could reduce noise levels by up to 90 percent.
Major airlines are opening up their pocketbooks for sky taxi services. American Airlines pre-ordered 250 flying taxis from VerticalAerospace. According to Business Insider, those aircraft can carry four passengers up to 100 miles and top 150 mph. The company told Business Insider that it has over 1,400 pre-orders from major airlines.
Joby is a Santa Cruz-based aviation startup that went public in late last year. Joby is one of the more mature startups in the space and claims to have six propeller-based e VTOLs that can fly at a maximum of 200 miles per hour. Joby wants customers to summon one of its vehicles using an app, which some are calling the "Uber of the air." Joby bought the flying taxi division of the company. A PR firm representing Joby told Gizmodo it was going to offer rides for the same price as the ride hailing service.
Joby received approval from the FAA to operate its aircraft commercially. Joby can technically operate as an aircraft, but it needs more approvals to actually transport people with its experimental e VTOL.
Flying taxis or e VTOLs are either a revolutionary new mode of eco-friendlier travel or a quieter helicopter. The current plans of United and many other airlines to use these vehicles as high-speed taxis to and from distant airports seems to fit that later description. Flying taxis as a concept date back decades, and hype around the next big potential commercial success story follows a similar path to that of self driving cars.
Things are different this time according to airlines and e VTOL startup. Flying taxis may become a reality within a few years, according to United, Joby Aviation, and the New York Times. There is no shortage of money available to make that happen. According to research conducted by Morgan Stanley, the total market could be worth over $1 billion by the year 2040.
The head of Morgan Stanley's Global auto and shared mobility said in a statement that there is a flurry of activity in this space.
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