Uber Air: The On-Demand Helicopter Service Will Soon Hit the Market

1. UberAir will be cheaper than Uber-copters.
2. A distance of 19km will be covered within 10 minutes.
3. It will be tested in Melbourne, Los Angeles, and Dallas.
4. Foster + Partners and other firms proposed Skyport designs to Uber Air.
5. Six eVOTL vehicles came into the limelight as possible models for Uber Air.

The Uber Air Taxi service, as per an Uber spokesman Eric Allison, will be four-sitter and make it possible to complete a journey of 19 km from CBD to Melbourne Airport within 10 minutes – something that takes somewhere around 25 minutes to one hour via cars. This will not solely increase the speed of travel, but also reduce traffic congestion which cost around $16.5 billion annually to the Australian economy.

These on-demand flying taxis will have a simple and sleek interior design, for which they have entered into a partnership with various companies like Boeing and Safran Cabin. Also, they are designed such that they gel well with the idea of becoming a widely accepted standard for eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) vehicle and thus, delivering an exclusive vehicle rider experience.

It was also disclosed that this UberAir pilot progam will also offer cost-effective ride options in New York, from lower Manhattan to John F. Kennedy International Airport, unrelated to its luxury-focused UberCopter that will be launched this July. [ Read more about Ubercopter here: UberCopter to Offer Flights from Lower Manhattan to J.F.K]

Though the UberAir taxi service is expected to be tested in Dubai in 2020, followed by in Los Angeles and Dallas in 2023, various steps have been taken to foreshadow the continual progress in this field. 

UberAir started working in the direction of picking the right Skyport designs. These skyports are expected to be situated in busy city locations like concert venues and stadiums with the potential to manage about 1,000 landings per hour.

While Gannett Fleming, Corgan, Pickard Chilton, The Beck Group, Humphreys & Partners Architects, and BOKA Powell shared their designs initially, Foster + Partners’ has also disclosed to design a skyport for Santa Clara.

Also, various firms including Boeing, Bell, and Embraer have confirmed to design eVTOL vehicles that Uber might consider for its On-demand uber air mobility service. And this way, contribute to making our lives better and bringing a wave of disruption in the business world. 

Besides, Karen Aircraft – one of the Uber partners – have recently raised a $25M series A round from Korean industrial conglomerate Hanwha Systems for its new air taxi spin-off.

This, as a whole, will grow users’ and companies’ interest in UberAir and  will eventually make everyone look ahead to know how to ride in the uprising Uber for X wave once again.

However, this will completely rely on various approvals by the Federal Aviation Administration and the cities and real estate developers that would be contributing to this idea for landing and taking off the idea.

So, let’s hope that everything goes in favor of this idea and we could soon head to our offices, shopping malls, flats, and other places in On-demand helicopters.