Flying taxis are set to shuttle passengers from Heathrow to cities in the South of England for the price of an Uber cab in just four years’ time, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Passengers arriving at Heathrow could take an electric air ‘taxi’ to London’s Canary Wharf in just 13 minutes for about £50 per passenger. A Uber journey costs £46.
An air taxi from Heathrow to Cambridge would take 28 minutes and cost £58, compared with £102 for a 90-minute taxi or £52 for a two-hour train journey.
HIGH HOPES: Vertical Aerospace’s battery-powered electric VA-X4 aircraft could revolutionise the transport network
Vertical Aerospace of Bristol is leading the ambitious project, in partnership with Virgin Atlantic airline and Heathrow.
Vertical Aerospace boss Stephen Fitzpatrick, who previously founded energy supplier Ovo, said he plans to revolutionise Britain’s transport network. According to the company’s estimates, air taxis produce less carbon per mile that petrol cars and electric vehicles.
In what Mr Fitzpatrick described as a ‘major milestone’ for electric flights, Vertical Aerospace has agreed a partnership with Heathrow to help launch the first air taxi flights by 2025.
Heathrow is exploring how Vertical’s electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft could fit into its airlines’ flight schedules and help ease congestion on surrounding roads. Vertical’s four-seater VA-X4 aircraft will shuttle passengers to cities including Oxford, Bristol and Southampton.
Virgin Atlantic will operate the air taxis. The airline has ordered up 150 of the battery-powered planes. Virgin Atlantic also plans to launch a Virgin-branded network for electric aircraft departing from Heathrow, Manchester, and Gatwick. As they seek to reduce carbon emissions, other airlines will likely follow their lead.
Vertical plans to launch regional routes, opening up new connections throughout the UK.
Its planes can fly more than 100 miles before charging their lithium-ion batteries. They can also travel at speeds up to 200 mph, which makes them about three times faster that car journeys and five folds faster than the train.
The air taxis will take off and land at ‘vertiports’ which could be based at airports, rural airfields, motorway service stations or on the rooftops of train stations and office buildings. Pictured: Heathrow Airport, Heathrow Airport.
Company documents show the expected fare for a 50-minute trip from Liverpool to Hull is £112 and a 41-minute flight from Cardiff to Plymouth would cost £89.
On a 90-mile flight, electric planes will produce approximately 5kg of carbon per passenger, compared to 11kg for a petrol car and 38kg for an electric vehicle.
The air taxis will take off and land at ‘vertiports’ which could be based at airports, rural airfields, motorway service stations or on the rooftops of train stations and office buildings. Inner-city sites could be used for short-distance ‘air taxi’ services, hailed by using an app.
Mr Fitzpatrick said: ‘This new generation aircraft bridges the gap between communities separated by inconvenient public transport or impassable terrain. Because, unlike helicopters, they are safe, clean and quiet, they will deliver huge benefits for densely populated cities too – more convenience and less congestion.’