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

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Initial eVTOL passenger cost projections ($2.25-$11 per mile) are largely considered optimistic, with expert analyses suggesting actual prices will be comparable to premium black car services rather than basic rideshares.
The commercialization of eVTOLs faces significant challenges, including the immense capital required to build both aircraft and airline operations, the difficulty of achieving high aircraft utilization with an on-demand model, and the need for integrated "end-to-end" journey solutions including ground transport.
Experts are skeptical about eVTOLs broadly transforming urban transportation, predicting a high rate of company failures and an initial market segment that caters to high-end users, potentially disrupting the existing civil rotorcraft industry.

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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.