United Airlines plans electric air taxis for U.S. cities

Electric air taxis will soon be zipping around American cities, according to United Airlines.

The company produces flying e-taxis intended for quick urban commutes or to go to the airport, Eve Air Mobility, and on Thursday the airline announced a $15 million investment in the company.

The investment comes after United last month placed a $10 million down payment on 100 comparable electric air taxis manufactured by California-based Archer.

200 of Eve’s four-seat eVTOLs, or electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles, will be purchased with the $15 million.

United will have the option to buy 200 more cars as part of the arrangement, with the first deliveries scheduled for 2026.

Electric motors are used in eVTOL aircraft in place of conventional combustible engines to provide carbon-free flying.

According to a joint statement from United and Eve, this should reduce pollution, noise, and traffic.

The airline said that the investment would help it achieve its goal of completely eliminating carbon emissions by 2050.

Michael Leskinen, president of United Airlines Ventures, a venture firm working to decarbonize air travel, said in a statement: “Our agreement with Eve highlights our confidence in the urban air mobility market and serves as another important benchmark toward our goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 — without using traditional offsets.”

Together, we think that our collection of clean energy technologies will transform air travel as we currently know it and help the aviation sector transition to a more sustainable future.

The company’s taxis will provide United passengers with “a speedy, inexpensive and sustainable method to travel to its main airports and commute in crowded metropolitan surroundings,” according to Eve co-CEO Andre Stein.

The planned range for the Eve aircraft is 40 to 60 miles. Future versions may be a little bit larger than the proposed four-seater, but because they wouldn’t replace any of United’s normal fleet aircraft that it uses to fly between airports, they wouldn’t help the airline cut its carbon emissions.

A portion of Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer and a special purpose acquisition company named Zanite joined together this year to establish Eve Holding, a publicly listed firm with headquarters in Melbourne, Florida.