OT: OMG!!! I found MY NEW way to go to work!!! Who wants one??!!

Turbulence before takeoff“Air
taxis are definitely the next phase of mobility,” says Joe Praveen
Vijayakumar, Frost & Sullivan senior industry analyst. “Urban
centers across the globe are struggling to come to terms with the rising
vehicle numbers and the resulting congestion, especially during peak
traffic hours. When air taxis become widely commercialized, they will
definitely ease the traffic burden on city roads. They will usher in a
nimble form of intracity travel, transporting people on the shortest
possible route between two locations.”
But growth faces hurdles. Incidents like the death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash
have highlighted safety concerns of flying taxis. While the first
flying taxi services may have human pilots, later replaced by
remote-controlled or AI-powered autonomous vehicles, regulators around
the world have been trying to get ahead of the commercialization rush by
creating standards and virtual sandboxes where developers can
experiment. Aside from risks to passengers and people on the ground, air
taxis could pose hazards for other aircraft.
They could also
become a target for hackers. The regulations in development will cover
everything from vehicle safety, airworthiness and traffic control to
noise pollution, operator certification and software security.  

Boeing’s first test of its Uber Air air taxi.Source: Boeing Corp.

When
air taxis become widely commercialized, they will definitely ease the
traffic burden on city roads. They will usher in a nimble form of
intracity travel, transporting people on the shortest possible route
between two locations.

Joe Praveen Vijayakumarsenior industry analyst, Frost & Sullivan

@"HappyViking" said: Turbulence before takeoff

“Air taxis are definitely the next phase of mobility,” says Joe Praveen Vijayakumar, Frost & Sullivan senior industry analyst. “Urban centers across the globe are struggling to come to terms with the rising vehicle numbers and the resulting congestion, especially during peak traffic hours. When air taxis become widely commercialized, they will definitely ease the traffic burden on city roads. They will usher in a nimble form of intracity travel, transporting people on the shortest possible route between two locations.” But growth faces hurdles. Incidents like the death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash have highlighted safety concerns of flying taxis. While the first flying taxi services may have human pilots, later replaced by remote-controlled or AI-powered autonomous vehicles, regulators around the world have been trying to get ahead of the commercialization rush by creating standards and virtual sandboxes where developers can experiment. Aside from risks to passengers and people on the ground, air taxis could pose hazards for other aircraft. They could also become a target for hackers. The regulations in development will cover everything from vehicle safety, airworthiness and traffic control to noise pollution, operator certification and software security.  

Boeing’s first test of its Uber Air air taxi.Source: Boeing Corp.

 “Everyone in the industry proceeds as though safety is guaranteed and technology will solve everything, which, as we know, is never the case,” says Dominic Perry, an aviation journalist and deputy editor of Flight International. “In the scramble to produce the air vehicles, there are also few companies giving due consideration to the infrastructure required to operate them, or the industrialization and resources required to build them in the first place.” Even if safety can be assured, cost is another big barrier. Morgan Stanley analyst Rajeev Lalwani has speculated that the market could begin as “an ultra-niche add-on to existing transportation infrastructure, similar to how helicopters operate today.” Personal helicopter travel has been around for a long time but hasn’t expanded beyond wealthy passengers, and it’s perhaps no surprise that Boeing and Porsche have joined hands to explore vehicles for the “premium urban air mobility market.” The question is whether automation can lower costs. Lilium Chief Commercial Officer Remo Gerber told CNBC that flights could take passengers from Manhattan to JFK Airport within six minutes for about $70; much less than Uber’s helicopter rides, which cost about $200 to $225 for the same trip.

When air taxis become widely commercialized, they will definitely ease the traffic burden on city roads. They will usher in a nimble form of intracity travel, transporting people on the shortest possible route between two locations.

Joe Praveen Vijayakumarsenior industry analyst, Frost & Sullivan

“If they are priced correctly, air taxis may be able to democratize travel in cities where there is no public transport alternative or where the congestion and size of the urban area (Sao Paulo is the classic example) are so great,” adds Perry. “If, however, they simply become another helicopter service for the rich, then all they will be doing is transforming the mobility of the wealthy, further increasing a divide between rich and poor. Will they alleviate ground congestion? Almost certainly not.” Surviving the shakeoutIt’s early to pick winners in the air-taxi race, but beyond regulations, safety and cost, a few factors are key. One is the ability to work with different players in all the different industries needed to make air taxis work, such as aviation, automotive, telecom, software, cybersecurity and real estate. Another is being able to work with governments to ensure the adoption of regulations supporting commercial air taxi services. “As for which brands will have an edge, definitely companies from the aviation industry which have entered the market, including Boeing, Airbus, Bell, etc., will definitely have an advantage because of their already existing aerospace expertise,” says Vijayakumar, referring to their long history of making commercial jets and helicopters. “Among the UAM start-ups, Volocopter, Kitty Hawk, Lilium and Joby Aviation look promising to commercialize.”  Perry believes many players will founder while struggling to shoulder the significant costs of developing air vehicles—Lilium founder and CEO Daniel Wiegand pegged them at “several million” — and will hold out hope for buyouts by white knights like Boeing or Airbus. “There seem to be a lot of companies drawn to the space from the tech sector where the attitude is all about challenging convention and while this can be healthy — all industries need a shakeup from time to time — there are a lot of rules and regulations in aerospace for a good reason,” he adds. “My suspicion is that a lot of Silicon Valley-type firms will also look to sell out at some point, with their IP the big value for them.”

@"StickyBun" said:

@"HappyViking" said: Turbulence before takeoff

“Air taxis are definitely the next phase of mobility,” says Joe Praveen Vijayakumar, Frost & Sullivan senior industry analyst. “Urban centers across the globe are struggling to come to terms with the rising vehicle numbers and the resulting congestion, especially during peak traffic hours. When air taxis become widely commercialized, they will definitely ease the traffic burden on city roads. They will usher in a nimble form of intracity travel, transporting people on the shortest possible route between two locations.” But growth faces hurdles. Incidents like the death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant in a helicopter crash have highlighted safety concerns of flying taxis. While the first flying taxi services may have human pilots, later replaced by remote-controlled or AI-powered autonomous vehicles, regulators around the world have been trying to get ahead of the commercialization rush by creating standards and virtual sandboxes where developers can experiment. Aside from risks to passengers and people on the ground, air taxis could pose hazards for other aircraft. They could also become a target for hackers. The regulations in development will cover everything from vehicle safety, airworthiness and traffic control to noise pollution, operator certification and software security.  

Boeing’s first test of its Uber Air air taxi.Source: Boeing Corp.

 “Everyone in the industry proceeds as though safety is guaranteed and technology will solve everything, which, as we know, is never the case,” says Dominic Perry, an aviation journalist and deputy editor of Flight International. “In the scramble to produce the air vehicles, there are also few companies giving due consideration to the infrastructure required to operate them, or the industrialization and resources required to build them in the first place.” Even if safety can be assured, cost is another big barrier. Morgan Stanley analyst Rajeev Lalwani has speculated that the market could begin as “an ultra-niche add-on to existing transportation infrastructure, similar to how helicopters operate today.” Personal helicopter travel has been around for a long time but hasn’t expanded beyond wealthy passengers, and it’s perhaps no surprise that Boeing and Porsche have joined hands to explore vehicles for the “premium urban air mobility market.” The question is whether automation can lower costs. Lilium Chief Commercial Officer Remo Gerber told CNBC that flights could take passengers from Manhattan to JFK Airport within six minutes for about $70; much less than Uber’s helicopter rides, which cost about $200 to $225 for the same trip.

When air taxis become widely commercialized, they will definitely ease the traffic burden on city roads. They will usher in a nimble form of intracity travel, transporting people on the shortest possible route between two locations.

Joe Praveen Vijayakumarsenior industry analyst, Frost & Sullivan

“If they are priced correctly, air taxis may be able to democratize travel in cities where there is no public transport alternative or where the congestion and size of the urban area (Sao Paulo is the classic example) are so great,” adds Perry. “If, however, they simply become another helicopter service for the rich, then all they will be doing is transforming the mobility of the wealthy, further increasing a divide between rich and poor. Will they alleviate ground congestion? Almost certainly not.” Surviving the shakeoutIt’s early to pick winners in the air-taxi race, but beyond regulations, safety and cost, a few factors are key. One is the ability to work with different players in all the different industries needed to make air taxis work, such as aviation, automotive, telecom, software, cybersecurity and real estate. Another is being able to work with governments to ensure the adoption of regulations supporting commercial air taxi services. “As for which brands will have an edge, definitely companies from the aviation industry which have entered the market, including Boeing, Airbus, Bell, etc., will definitely have an advantage because of their already existing aerospace expertise,” says Vijayakumar, referring to their long history of making commercial jets and helicopters. “Among the UAM start-ups, Volocopter, Kitty Hawk, Lilium and Joby Aviation look promising to commercialize.”  Perry believes many players will founder while struggling to shoulder the significant costs of developing air vehicles—Lilium founder and CEO Daniel Wiegand pegged them at “several million” — and will hold out hope for buyouts by white knights like Boeing or Airbus. “There seem to be a lot of companies drawn to the space from the tech sector where the attitude is all about challenging convention and while this can be healthy — all industries need a shakeup from time to time — there are a lot of rules and regulations in aerospace for a good reason,” he adds. “My suspicion is that a lot of Silicon Valley-type firms will also look to sell out at some point, with their IP the big value for them.”

Like I said, its cool stuff....but really, REALLY far off from being a reality in any meaningful way. Much longer than 20 years. Good article that shows the neatness of it but the reality also.