How Much Will It Cost to Fly on eVTOL Air Taxis?

Electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft are years away from entering service, but the discussion is already under way about passenger prices.

Thom Patterson

Friday, October 22, 2021 at 12:32 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

While eVTOL companies project passenger fares from $2.25-$11 per mile and aim for launches as early as 2024, experts are skeptical, citing the immense challenges of simultaneously building aircraft manufacturing and airline operations, coupled with high capital demands.
Actual passenger costs will be heavily influenced by factors like "end-to-end" trip pricing (including ground transport), the need for extremely high aircraft utilization for the on-demand rideshare model, and significant pilot training and salary expenses.
Initial pricing is expected to be comparable to premium services like black car livery or existing helicopter air taxis, targeting high-end users. Many eVTOL companies are predicted to fail, with the lasting impact likely a disruption to the civil rotorcraft industry rather than a broad urban transportation revolution.

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Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxis are years from being commercially available, but that’s not keeping people from asking: How much will passengers be asked to pay to fly on these new aircraft?

Altogether, investors have been betting billions of dollars on eVTOL companies like Joby Aviation, Lilium, Volocopter and others that are promising to build an entirely new form of convenient, safe, and environmentally friendly urban transportation.