American Airlines Is Making Flying Taxis
American Airlines is testing flying taxis as a new means of transportation to offer to consumers in the future.
If you were a fan of the Jetsons or Star Wars, this one is for you. American Airlines made history this week as they completed their first test flight for their new flying taxi. American Airlines’ parent company Vertical Aerospace stated in a press release this week that it completed its first full-scale piloted test flight on Monday.
The VX4 Flying Taxi is a short-distance aircraft capable of carrying four passengers up to 100 miles at a speed of over 200mph. This test flight is a significant step in developing electrical vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft technology.
VX4 First Historical Flight
This first historical flight lasted only 10 minutes and was conducted inside an aircraft hangar. During which the aircraft hovered three feet from the ground, confirming that it could hold its own weight while in the air. American airlines assured customers that longer flights, up to 30 minutes, at higher altitudes would take place before the aircraft is released for consumers.
This leap in aviation is excellent news for American Airlines, which invested $25 million in Vertical Aerospace, its parent company. The company agreed to buy 250 VX4 aircrafts last year and will use them to shuttle passengers to and from airports and across cities by 2025.
Its competition, United Airlines, made a similar business move to American Airlines by putting down a $10 million pre-order with Archer Aviation for 100 electric flying taxis last month. Also, it has been released that Virgin Airlines have invested in the same technology.
Supersonic Aircraft
Along with its new investment in flying taxis, American Airlines continues to expand its aircraft portfolio with another investment in the future. They have recently agreed to purchase 20 supersonic aircraft for high-speed, trans-oceanic flights. This aircraft is a homage to the British aircraft Concord. Not to miss out on an opportunity, United Airlines, chomping at the bit, agreed to buy 15 of the same plane.
This supersonic aircraft, which seems such a massive leap into the future, is due to hit runways in 2029, just four short years after the VX4 Flying taxi is expected to launch. There have been no reports on which American airports will receive either of the two ground-breaking aircraft. Without a doubt, American Airlines and United Airlines will have their pick of airports as they will all want to be the first to house such a historical moment in aviation.
Also, neither company has released ticket prices for the new aircraft. Like all new technology when it is first released, for the ordinary people of America, it might be out of their price range.
To think aircraft like these will be readily available for use by people in less than ten years is mind-blowing. People have spent years watching SCI-FI movies with technology like this, and now we are actually experiencing it in real life. Technology is changing at hyper-speed, and I, for one, am ready for aircraft to take me to Hawaii in 10 minutes. Aloha.
