Japan's Biggest Airline Announces Plans to Build Flying Taxis

A few years ago, flying cars were a synonym of futuristic technology. Nowadays, maybe it's not that far in the future. It may not be a car, but a flying taxi is pretty close. In this slogging thread, the random channel discussed a piece of news where the main topic is indeed flying taxis and how this could be managed.

This Slogging thread by Sara Pinto, Mónica Freitas, Jack Boreham, Limarc Ambalina and Abeer occurred in slogging's official #random channel, and has been edited for readability.

Sara PintoFeb 16, 2022, 12:23 PM

Are flying taxis the future?

https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/02/15/flying-taxi-startup-joby-and-airline-ana-sign-deal-to-bring-evtol-to-japan

Sara PintoFeb 16, 2022, 12:24 PM

"Japan's largest airline and flying taxi startup Joby Aviation have announced plans to bring aerial ridesharing to the country's third-largest city, Osaka.

In a statement on Monday, airline ANA and the Californian startup said travelling by air would cut the journey time from central Osaka to the city's Kansai Airport to just 15 minutes, compared to an hour by car.

Joby's founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt said the startup wanted to provide a greener way of travelling quickly via its electric-powered vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft."

Sara PintoFeb 16, 2022, 12:24 PM

Limarc Ambalina Mónica Freitas Jack Boreham Abeer what's your thoughts on this?

Mónica FreitasFeb 17, 2022, 10:32 AM

Sara Pinto, first of all, this is shocking, futuristic, sci-fi-ish and exciting. I'd love to try them out. On another hand, is this really the greener option? I'm not sure how far ahead they are with this project but it'd be interesting to compare how much this flying taxi pollutes with a regular taxi or electric bus.

Jack BorehamFeb 17, 2022, 2:01 PM

Sara Pinto, I love everything about this I want one to use one. 😂 What a great way to get around.

Limarc AmbalinaFeb 18, 2022, 8:53 AM

I'm in but it depends on how high off the ground they are. LOL is there any data in the article Sara Pinto about how these will work?

I'm scared of heights, but if they are just hovering like 15 feet off the ground, I can handle it

Sara PintoFeb 23, 2022, 2:58 PM

That's a great point, Mónica Freitas! They actually disclosed that subject and the aircrafts are electric-powered! I'm all up for green alternatives, so this got me excited

Sara PintoFeb 23, 2022, 3:01 PM

Jack Boreham, do you think it's something that will eventually catch up in the whole world?

Sara PintoFeb 23, 2022, 3:08 PM

Limarc Ambalina, you might be out of luck. They said: "Public acceptance might be a challenge in Japan, where noise-sensitive residents have previously protested against low-altitude flights over urban areas.". This type of traveling, even though it's electric, may cause noise problems

Sara PintoFeb 23, 2022, 3:11 PM

But on the other hand, they also say that they cut the journey time to 15 minutes with this aircraft, which would translate to 1 hour journey by car. So you would only have to face your fear for 15 minutes haha Limarc Ambalina

Mónica FreitasFeb 24, 2022, 6:28 PM

Sara Pinto, oh wow. Then I'm all for it. It'd be great if we could replicate this with bigger aircrafts.

AbeerMar 7, 2022, 9:58 AM

Sara Pinto I think this is very cool. It can definitely help clear out some of the traffic here in NY. 😂 I’m just wondering how they’ll manage the laws behind it. Also, would you need a driver’s license or a pilot license to drive one of those things?

Sara PintoMar 9, 2022, 9:01 PM

Mónica Freitas, that's a little more ambitious haha

Sara PintoMar 9, 2022, 9:05 PM

Abeer, they definitely have to careful with all the noise issues and so on, but it would be pretty cool to take this faster way of transportation!

Sara PintoMar 9, 2022, 9:08 PM

Abeer, they actually mentioned it in the news! To operate a flying taxi you would need pilot training and the infrastructure, between other things as well