Chicago O'Hare International and UA plan to launch flying taxi services from 2025

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By Matthew Griffin Future Transport 30th March 2023

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

Why take taxis through congested city streets when you can just fly to your final destination?

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A while ago London Heathrow announced that in 2025 they’d launch an air taxi service into the center of London, and now, if you’re heading to O’Hare International Airport from downtown Chicago, you too might be able to skip traffic by taking an “air taxi” instead of a traditional taxi – provided that your jaunt can wait a couple of years.

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United Airlines announced Thursday that it will launch Chicago’s first commercial air taxi route in 2025, leveraging electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft to transport people between hotspots.

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Beginning in 2025, residents and tourists can hop onto an Archer Aviation “Midnight” eVTOL from Vertiport Chicago to O’Hare International Airport and vice versa. Vertiport Chicago, the continent’s largest eVTOL takeoff and landing facility, is conveniently located near several medical, shopping, and recreation amenities, making it an ideal hub for the city’s new transportation option. A flight between the two take off and landing points will take about 10 minutes, compared with 35 minutes of driving (in light traffic) and an hour of public transit use.

That could be a pretty comfortable 10 minutes. With a total payload capacity of 1,000 pounds, Midnight can carry up to four passengers with minimal luggage, making it a practical transportation option for business travellers, couples, or small families. It’s also said to be far quieter than a helicopter at just 45 dBA (versus helicopters’ 100 dBA or more). Archer hasn’t offered a lot of visibility into Midnight’s cabin, but sneak peeks appear to show wide seats with harness-style seat belts, similar to the kind you’d wear on an open-door helicopter ride.

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“Both Archer and United are committed to decarbonizing air travel and leveraging innovative technologies to deliver on the promise of the electrification of the aviation industry,” said United Airlines Ventures president Michael Leskinen on Thursday. “Once operational, we’re excited to offer our customers a more sustainable, convenient, and cost-effective mode of transportation during their commutes to the airport.”

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United first expressed public interest in eVTOL transportation last year when it shared that it had purchased 200 electric air taxis from Eve Air Mobility. Just before this announcement, United had promised Archer a minimum purchase of $10 million to get travellers to and from airports via eVTOL. Both investments are part of United’s plan to become carbon neutral without using traditional offsets by 2050 – a goal well complemented by the state of Illinois, which aims to use 100% clean energy by the same year.

Matthew Griffin / About Author

Described by NASA as a "Walking Encyclopaedia of the Future" and one of the world’s most in demand keynote speakers Matthew Griffin, Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm, is a multi-award winning Futurist and strategic foresight expert, author, lecturer, mentor, podcast and YouTube host.

With a distinguished career running global business units at Atos, EMC, and IBM today Matthew helps leaders and titans of industry from all over the world explore the impact of the inter sections of technology, culture, and leadership, then helps them create high performance organisations that can continuously disrupt, outpace, and outthink their competition.

15 times author of the hit series the Codex of the Future series Matthew's ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends on global business, culture, and society has earned him a powerful reputation and a roster of clients that include royal households, world leaders across the G7, G20, and G77, and many of the world's most recognised and exceptional organisations including ABB, Accenture, ABN Amro, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi Group, Coca Cola, Deloitte, Dentons, Disney, Dow, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Microsoft, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Nokia, Paramount, PepsiCo, PWC, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, T-Mobile, UBS, Visa, WIRED, WPP and hundreds of others.

Matthew is regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, and his mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.