The electric flying taxis the key to tomorrow's mobility? United Airlines seems to believe in it, having just invested no less than 15 million in electric vehicles with vertical take-off and landing, or eVTOL. An agreement has just been reached with the manufacturer Eve Air MobilityEmbraer's Brazilian subsidiary specialising in flying taxis and related infrastructure. The agreement provides for the conditional purchase of 200 four-seater electric aircraftand 200 options. As for the timetable unveiled by United, it provides for first deliveries of flying taxis in 2026.
While the airports positioned themselves fairly early on in the urban air mobility ("Urban Air Mobility", UAM), - like the Aéroports de la Côte d'Azur Group and its Urban Blue alliance with the airports of Rome, Venice and Bologna - the airlines have remained relatively discreet until now. United's move could pave the way for new investments by other carriers.
" Today, United is making history once again by becoming the first major airline to invest publicly in two eVTOL companies "says Michael Leskinen, Chairman of United Airlines Ventures. " Our agreement with Eve underlines our confidence in the urban air mobility market and is another important milestone towards our goal of zero net carbon emissions by 2050 - without using traditional offsets. Together, we believe that our suite of clean energy technologies will revolutionise air travel as we know it and act as a catalyst for the aviation industry to move towards a sustainable future. ".
