But eventually, says Nestmann, the company’s goal is to make the cost competitive with, say, an Uber Black. These first flights will cost €300 ($350/£270) per ticket. VoloCity’s first commercial flights are scheduled to take place in 2022. That will mean a higher cost per ride at first, but Volocopter hopes to build consumer confidence before transitioning to a full-autonomy model: an electric, wingless craft powered by nine batteries, which will transport passengers throughout a planned network of vertiports – airports for planes that take off and land vertically – across major cities. Initially, the VoloCity will only have room for a single passenger. “It’s like an Uber Black or any other premium service,” says Fabien Nestmann, vice president of public affairs at Volocopter. Germany-based Volocopter, for instance, has marketed its VoloCity craft as the first commercially licensed electrically powered air taxi, a vehicle which will eventually run without a pilot. Meanwhile, aviation authorities hash out the policies and safety standards that will govern this new realm of transport. Venture capitalists, auto and aviation corporations (even rideshare company Uber, with its ambitious Uber Elevate) are staking claims on the burgeoning industry, which may be worth as much as $1.5tn (£1.1tn) by 2040. Dozens of start-up companies are competing to develop commercial jetpacks, flying motorbikes and personal air taxis.
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