Fans of classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon ‘The Jetsons’ will know it is set in a comical future where flying cars are a common sight.
Meanwhile, cult 90s film ‘The Fifth Element’ depicts Brue Willis as a flying taxi driver, shuttling passengers around the skies of New York in the 23rd century.
But according to experts, the days of flying taxis being consigned to fiction will be over in just a few years.
Under a year from now, the first commercial air taxi will ferry visitors on trips around Paris at the 2024 Summer Olympics, finally heralding the arrival of the technology.
Sir Stephen Hillier, chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, thinks we are on the brink of a ‘flying taxi’ boom and the brink of a ‘new revolution’.
Trips in the craft will likely end up costing travellers around £5 to £10 per mile travelled – between that of a helicopter and a private car. Concept image shows a Virgin-branded aircraft, built by Vertical Aerospace, flying over London
Fans of classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon ‘The Jetsons’ will know it is set in a comical future where flying cars are a common sight
Mr Hillier has called for a global common standard for flying taxis ahead of the ‘widespread’ adoption of the vehicles, which will utilise space in the air and reduce congestion on roads.
And just like the electric car revolution that is taking place on the ground, most flying taxi will be electric, meaning they won’t emit toxic pollutants.
‘If we go outside at the moment and look up into the air, it’s mostly empty,’ Mr Hillier told the Financial Times.
‘And we will now have the technologies to make much more use of that environment than we have in the past.’
Investors around the world are pumping millions of dollars into flying taxi projects, which are going through various stages of testing.
Vertical Aerospace, based in Bristol, is one UK firm working towards building the fleet of electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, as part of a £2.8 billion ($4 billion) project.
VTOL aircraft can take off straight up into the air rather than having to build speed along the ground first, reducing the need for runway space.
Classic 90s film ‘The Fifth Element’ depicts Brue Willis as a flying taxi driver taking passengers around the skies of New York in the 23rd century. Pictured, screenshot from the film
Vertical Aerospace, a Bristol-based firm, is working towards building the fleet of electrically powered vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, as part of a £2.8 billion ($4 billion) project. Virgin Atlantic will purchase up to 150 of the aircraft, called VA-X4, to deliver a Virgin Atlantic branded short haul network around some of the UK’s busiest cities
In a few years, VTOL could potentially take off and land at airfields in the outskirts of a city, or even on landing pads at the top of skyscrapers.
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic will purchase up to 150 Vertical Aerospace’s aircraft, called VA-X4, to deliver a Virgin Atlantic branded short haul network around some of the UK’s busiest cities.
Stephen Fitzpatrick, Vertical Aerospace CEO and founder, told the Times that flying vehicles are safe and have a failure rate of one in a billion.
‘The technology we need to make these air taxis, we have today,’ he said.
‘And we are in the process of demonstrating that they meet the very, very rigorous safety standards that you need to manufacture commercial aircraft.
‘So we’re in the certification phase, and probably two to three years away from the first commercial air taxis hitting the market.’
Fitzpatrick thinks electric taxis will be cheaper and quicker than taxis on the ground.
The aircraft would potentially take off and land at airfields in the outskirts of a city, or even on landing pads at the top of tall buildings
Investors around the world are pumping millions of dollars into flying taxi projects, which are going through various stages of testing. Pictured is an artist’s impression of the VTOL from UK company Bellwether over New York
For example, an air taxi from Heathrow to Canary Wharf would cost £50 with a journey time of eight to ten minutes.
In comparison, a traditional taxi normally takes up to two hours to do the same route during rush hour and costs £150.
Another company, Electron Aviation which is based in the Netherlands, plans to launch a ‘sky-hailing service’ akin to Uber that users could book through an app.
Electron Aviation’s fleet of 186mph (300kph) battery-electric air taxis are expected to become a reality in Netherlands and the UK in 2027.
Although the firm’s fleet won’t be VTOL – they’ll launch like commercial planes – this shouldn’t be an issue as they’ll make use of existing airport runways.
Meanwhile, German company Volocopter will be the one to transport passengers around Paris at the Summer Olympics next year.
It’s already performed a successful test flight of its VoloCity VTOL, which looks like more like a helicopter or a giant drone than a car.
Electron Aviation plans to launch its first electric air taxis in Holland in 2027, before taking its ‘sky-hailing service’ to the UK
Earlier this month, UK firm Bristow Group announced it had order two VoloCity machines with the aim of establishing a commercial passenger and cargo service in the US and UK.
When VoloCity does get put to work at the Olympics, it will be ‘a great milestone’ that would help to drive the industry forwards, Fitzpatrick admitted to the Times.
However, it will be a while before any big city transforms into something worthy of the Jetsons, complete with elaborate robots and holograms.
‘We’re going to need more infrastructure, we’re going to need more pilots, but the technology is there today,’ he said.
