For more than a half century, much of the urban experience has been built around the needs and capabilities of automobiles. Now China is experimenting with a framework built around air taxis to create the world’s first drone hotel. expand full story
Air-Taxi Stories May 13
Air-Taxi Stories September 9, 2019
Led by Volvo owner Geely, air-taxi Volocopter raises $55M
Led by Volvo owner Geely, air-taxi Volocopter has raised $55M and hopes to bring the passenger drone and services to market in the next two to three years. The company’s focus has not been on the US market due to regulatory challenges.
Air-Taxi Stories January 23, 2019
Boeing’s autonomous air taxi completes its first flight
On Tuesday, Boeing’s autonomous air taxi completed its first flight in Manassas, Va. The aircraft takes off and lands vertically (VTOL) but transitions into a horizontal flight path once airborne. A number of other companies, such as Bell, Volocopter, and eHang are developing similar air taxis.
Air-Taxi Stories October 16, 2018
Zephyr Airworks, Kitty Hawk’s operator in New Zealand, just announced that they entered into a partnership with Air New Zealand. Kitty Hawk is the company behind the Cora passenger or taxi drone and is funded by Google co-founder Larry Page and CEO-ed by Sebastian Thrun, the self-driving car pioneer who is the founding director of Google’s X lab.
The collaboration between Zephyr Airworks and Air New Zealand aims to bring the world’s first autonomous electric air taxi service to market in New Zealand. Various companies around the world are working to bring air taxis or passenger drones to the market. Other examples are Volocopter, Workhorse, eHang, Airbus and Bell Helicopter.
Air-Taxi Stories September 26, 2018
Philippine inventor, Kyxz Mendiola unveiled a passenger drone. He calls it a flying sports car that represents the future of transportation. He drove it out of a warehouse and took off among a cheering crowd, leaving them all in a cloud of dust.
Air-Taxi Stories June 13, 2018
Morris Mbetsa, a mostly self-taught inventor and electrical engineer, has built the first passenger drone in Africa. Inspired by companies like Uber and Volocopter, Morris set out to create this prototype to show the world that the people in Africa have the brain power to develop passenger drones, and ultimately to be the first nation in the world with flying taxis
