Uber gets closer to his project of air taxis

Uber was planing a new Flying Taxis service, and this idea is getting closer and closer to reality. But this raises a question: where will they take off and land?

courtesy of Uber

According to Uber, his future vehicles in the air are getting closer to traditional helicopters. At the beginning of the project, Uber wanted to convert the existing structures into places where the company’s future air taxis could take off and land, but the project has evolved and it has now revealed its intention to build its own Skyports.

It is certain that this ambition adds a complex and expensive part to the development of the project, but these Skyports answer to problems of safety and noise. In addition, they will have take-off and landing spaces with structures designed to handle up to 72 return flights per hour.

Uber plans to launch commercial air taxi flights in 2023 in Los Angeles, Dallas and Melbourne, Australia. On the other hand, the operation of Uber air taxis will be different from the usual service we all know, because when you order your helicopter taxi, you will have to go to an exact location. And no, the flying taxi will not pick you where you are!

In an interview, Uber Elevate chief Eric Allison said some of the early SkyPorts could be located at airports, as these are busy routes with normal Uber traffic. But Uber wants to go much further than that since he hopes to create centers where all Uber vehicles (flying or not) can meet.

courtesy of Uber

Uber has announced a partnership with Signature Flight Support, which will facilitate ground operations and Skyport infrastructure for Uber Air. Signature is a leading private aviation operator providing services such as refueling and maintenance. Signature will also provide services to Uber Copter, which will be launched in New York next month with helicopter flights between Lower Manhattan and JFK Airport. This new project seems attractive and would bring a new perspective to the future of aviation, however this project is still far from being registered, because it requires huge financial investments and the approval of many regulatory bodies and government. These barriers could mean that they will ultimately look very different from the one displayed today.

Let’s follow the evolution!