Flying taxis
Courtesy - lilium aviation.com
Black cabs are as well-known a feature of London’s streets as yellow taxis are to New York, but it seems that in the future we may be sharing rides in a five-seater plane to get to work.
The team at Lilium is now working on an aircraft that can take off from micro-landing pads in the middle of cities and is designed with the on-demand air taxi and ridesharing services in mind. The company thinks that it will be popular with those already using taxi apps who do not access the private jet market.
Lilium has just completed its maiden test flight series in the skies above Bavaria.
The ‘air taxi’ is electronically powered, therefore zero-emission and can move at 300 km/h. A flight from Manhatten to New York’s JFK Airport will take around five minutes compared to a journey of fifty-five minutes by car.
Lilium closed a £10 million funding round with Atomico, the leading European venture capital firm based in London last December and it was announced that Atomico’s founder, Niklas Zennstrom would be joining the board at Lilium.
Atomico is known as a champion of European ‘deep tech’ companies that bring together specialist knowledge and skills with the vision and determination to solve the world’s biggest problems.
Lilium wants to reduce future city road congestion warning that the 1.2 billion cars currently being driven will rise to an estimated 2 billion by 2035.
It also thinks if the jet is successful an adjustment in house prices could occur as town and country compete on a level-playing field with easier commutes.