Step aside Uber. In many countries, we are now seeing the rise of electric flights that are offering taxi services between cities. For example, Japan now has an electric air taxi. AutoFlight delivered the five-seater Prosperity aircraft to the operator, which will be named in the future.
This comes on the heels of AutoFlight’s February announcement where it demonstrated inter-city electric air taxi demonstration flight between the southern Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai. AutoFlight’s Prosperity aircraft completed the trip by autonomously flying the 50km (31 miles) route. The flight across the Pearl River Delta took just 20 minutes, a journey that would require three hours by car.
Here is how this can help:
- Push the boundaries of urban air mobility in a safe and environmentally friendly way.
- Enable people to travel to their destination faster than before.
- Offer multiple options for travel in the years ahead.
Looking to the future, the route between Shenzhen and Zhuhai is part of the future air traffic scenario planned by the regional government as it develops its ‘low-altitude economy’ strategy. The future of travel is changing—certainly we will need to keep an eye on electric and autonomous trends in the years ahead.