The electric flying taxis are they the key to tomorrow’s mobility? United Airlines seems to believe in it, she who has just invested no less than 15 million dollars in electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles, or eVTOL. An agreement has just been concluded with the manufacturer Eve Air Mobility, the Brazilian subsidiary of Embraer specializing in flying taxis and related infrastructure. This agreement provides for the conditional purchase of 200 four-seat electric aircraftas well as 200 options. As for the schedule unveiled by United, it plans to first deliveries of flying taxis from 2026.
While the airports positioned themselves fairly early on the issue of urban air mobility (“Urban Air Mobility”, UAM), – like the Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur Group and its alliance « Urban Blue » with the airports of Rome, Venice and Bologna – the airlines have remained relatively discreet so far. The approach taken by United could therefore pave the way for new investments by other carriers.
Today United are making history again
Michael Leskinen, President of United Airlines Ventures
« Today, United is making history again, becoming the first major airline to publicly invest in two eVTOL companies. “says Michael Leskinen, President of United Airlines Ventures. ” Our agreement with Eve underscores our confidence in the urban air mobility market and is another important milestone towards our goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 – without using traditional offsets. Together, we believe our suite of clean energy technologies will revolutionize air travel as we know it and serve as a catalyst for the aviation industry to move towards a sustainable future. ».