An Air Taxi or an Expensive Uber?

The 2028 Los Angles Olympics are just 3 years away, and time will soon catch up with us. The roads are going to be grid lock, and the subways standing room only. So tell us now, how would you like to get around if you were one of the fortunate few. Would you prefer an air taxi or an expensive Uber ride to ferry you around?

An LA Air Taxi For the Price of a High-End Uber

Archer Aviation has advanced plans to launch a relatively inexpensive air taxi into the Los Angeles Olympic skies. We understand that NASA may test the lithium-ion battery cells under extreme conditions. Although the company is still awaiting FAA certification of its ‘Midnight’ air taxi, according to BBC News.

Battery-power passenger flight has been a long time catching up with our dreams. The challenge has always been balancing the weight of the batteries, versus the flying range of an electric air taxi aircraft.

This could be why the Midnight VTOL aircraft’s payload will be a single pilot and just four passengers. And how its flying range will be just sixty miles, at a maximum 150 miles per hour. But will it be safe, with potentially unstable lithium-ion batteries adding to the payload?

Will They Get It Right The Second Time Around?

The fortunate few might have had a choice between an air taxi or an expensive Uber ride at the previous Paris 2024 Olympics, but for one thing. Europe’s air safety agency failed to certify the aircraft in time.

However, Archer Aviation is pushing ahead with plans for a fleet of electric taxis, to ferry fans to and from venues at the Los Angeles Games. If all goes according to plan, BBC News expects it will offer 10 to 20 minute flights to residents, and visitors alike.

Everything comes at a cost, and the Midnight dream is no exception. Customer prices are still under wraps. Although the CEO wants to keep them ‘comparable to a high-end Uber’, according to Los Angeles Times. Whatever else will our world of batteries come up with next?