Such futuristic "flying taxis" are among the star turns of this year's aerospace industry event as they move closer to the day when they can be used by the public.
For the VoloCity made by German firm Volocopter, the next stop is the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, when it plans to ferry passengers across the French capital -- more than a decade after its first test flight.
With a maximum airspeed of 110 kilometres (68 miles) per hour, the 18-rotor aircraft has room for a pilot and a passenger.
"The good news is (that) it's very simple to fly. It has a very clever digital flight control system," said VoloCity pilot Paul Stone, who used to test fighter jets for Britain's Royal Navy.
Experienced helicopter and airplane pilots will be trained to fly the VoloCity, he said.
"The irony is for helicopter pilots, they will have to unlearn many very clever skills and learn to fly an aircraft simply again, because it's much simpler to fly than, say, a helicopter," Stone said.
Volocopter has been conducting test flights in the Paris region for more than a year as it preps for the Olympics.
The company has been working on the project with Groupe ADP, which operates Paris airports, state-owned metro and bus operator RATP, and the Ile-de-France region government.
ADP chief executive Edward Arkwright said more than 20 flights spanning 200 kilometres have taken place.
The air taxi will fly between Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and nearby Paris-Le Bourget Airport as well as a heliport near Versailles and a "vertiport" installed on a barge in the Seine river in southeast Paris.
Ile-de-France president Valerie Pecresse said the region will spend one million euros to build the barge.
Volocopter is waiting for the greenlight from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency for permission to fly by spring 2024.
- 'Not easy market' -
Volocopter has ploughed $600 million into its air taxi -- an expensive endeavour as it has yet to be made available to consumers.
"It's a market not easy to enter, you have high investments," said Christian Bauer, the company's chief financial officer.
"It's a challenge but we're very close to the commercial phase," he said.
The company has already received 300 pre-orders from private firms for its eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft.
In addition to selling aircraft, Volocopter will manage the routes with an app that will enable online reservations.
Whether on not eVTOL aircraft become as easy to take as an Uber is an open question, but the aerospace industry is taking their potential impact seriously and for the first time they have their own dedicated space at the airshow.
Investment hasn't been lacking. A recent study by the Deloitte consultancy found the sector attracted 6 billion euros in investment in 2021, before falling to 2.7 billion in 2022 after the pandemic hit.
"Four years ago it was still a very experimental sector. The market has consolidated a bit and today we have real prototypes and it is becoming a reality," said Jean-Louis Rassineux, a senior partner at Deloitte responsible for the aerospace and defence sectors.
Orders are starting to flow in.
On Monday, the French startup Ascendance Flight Technologies announced another 110 orders for its Atea eVTOL, taking the total to 505.
The US firm Archer has 100 orders for its eVTOL by United Airlines worth more than a billion dollars which will be used as electric air taxis ferrying people from O'Hare International Airport and downtown Chicago.
Its Midnight eVTOL, can carry four passengers in addition to a pilot.
"Midnight is a convenient product which can take you from the airport to city centre for a cost that is similar to a ride share in an Uber ... it can replace a ninety-minute commute by a five-minute commute," Archer's chief executive Adam Goldstein told AFP.
An Uber ride from Charles de Gaulle airport in to central Paris typically costs around $40.
Electric motors help drastically reduce maintenance costs compared to regular helicopters, said Goldstein, who rejected the idea that air mobility should be reserved for the rich, a criticism often addressed at eVTOLs.
Less maintenance requirements not only reduces costs but allows for more flights per day, meaning the price for consumers is lower.
The major aircraft manufacturers are making sure they don't miss out.
Boeing has ploughed money into US startup Wisk Aero, which is presenting an pilotless eVTOL at the airshow.
"If the autonomy doesn't work: we fail," said Wisk CEO Brian Yutko. "We don't have a plan B trying to figure out how to have an optional pilot. This venture is absolutely committed to certify the first autonomous aircraft."
Biggest-ever airliner order marks first day of Paris Air Show
Le Bourget, France (AFP) June 19, 2023 -
European aircraft maker Airbus got the Paris Air Show off to a soaring start on Monday with the announcement of the biggest-ever order for civil aircraft, as the French president joined a big crowd for the event's return after a four-year Covid hiatus.
The 500-plane deal with low-cost Indian carrier IndiGo kicked off what organisers have billed as the "recovery airshow" after the coronavirus ravaged the sector and the biennial trade fair was cancelled in 2021.
Fighter jets and civilian aircraft streaked across the sky while suited and uniformed delegations, including Ukrainian military officials and President Emmanuel Macron, toured the stands.
This year's airshow has a new focus on defence following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as the industry's efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, with French President Emmanuel Macron arriving in a helicopter partly using sustainable aviation fuel.
Macron called for "restraint" to protect the environment but said measures for aviation should be "reasonable" rather than "punitive", adding that the world shouldn't "give up on growth".
Huge traffic jams around Le Bourget airport outside Paris were testament to the interest in this year's show, as aircraft makers field hundreds of orders and airlines brace for a near-record number of passengers this year.
The Ukraine conflict has also prompted countries to boost military spending, which could benefit aerospace defence firms.
While Russia has been excluded from the event, Ukrainian military officials toured the huge exhibition space at Paris-Le Bourget airport, some taking photos of missiles on display.
- 'Passion for air hasn't disappeared' -
Macron announced that Belgium is to be admitted as an observer to the French-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme, which is seeking to develop the next generation of air combat technology.
Macron, closing a ministerial conference on European air defence, called it a " major development".
The FCAS is due to come into service by 2040, but has already suffered numerous delays.
Also on the military front, Macron said that France, Estonia, Hungary, Belgium and Cyprus are to jointly purchase Mistral short-range surface-to-air missiles.
"This is a very fine example of sovereign cooperation between Europeans on a range that is entirely relevant and that was not sufficiently covered", the French leader said.
There were star turns for the Rafale fighter made by France's Dassault and the American F-35 jet, with hundreds of visitors turning their phone cameras skyward and some plugging their ears against the deafening flypasts.
Le Bourget offers a forum to announce deals with some 2,500 firms lining up to show off their latest planes, drones, helicopters and prototypes such as flying taxis.
With 125,000 square metres (1,350,000 square feet) of exhibition space -- the equivalent of nearly 18 football pitches -- around 320,000 visitors are expected during the week-long event.
"Passion for the air hasn't disappeared, that's good news," said Bertrand Godinot, easyJet's Netherlands and France director.
- Big deals -
Along with the Farnborough airshow in England, which takes place in even numbered years, Le Bourget is a key sales event for the civil and defence industries.
Airbus and rival Boeing compete fiercely in announcing orders for aircraft running into the billions of dollars.
Monday's IndiGo-Airbus deal covers A320 family planes at a list price of $55 billion.
Although closely held actual sale prices are usually lower, it marks the largest ever civil aviation order by volume, hailed by Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury as "an enormous milestone".
Airbus and Boeing are also battling to solidify supply chains as they increase production to meet growing demand.
The United States has a strong presence with 425 exhibitors, while firms from 46 other nations are present.
China, which lifted Covid restrictions only at the beginning of this year, is also represented.
However, Beijing is not displaying its first homegrown medium-haul passenger jet, the C919, built to compete with the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX.
- Flying taxis -
The airshow also hopes to open a window into the future as projects for flying taxis and other vertical take-off aircraft abound.
Several prototypes will be on display as part of a "Paris Air Mobility" exhibition to showcase the latest innovations that developers hope will change how people travel.
Macron arrived aboard Airbus' latest helicopter, the H160, in a flight fuelled with 30 percent sustainable aviation fuel before visiting the European group's stand where it laid out its net-zero-by-2050 plan.
Macron had on Friday announced $2.2 billion to help develop technologies to reduce aircraft emissions.
Air travel accounts for nearly three percent of global CO2 emissions but serves only a small minority of the world's population.
With the industry targeting net zero emissions by mid-century, firms are turbocharging efforts to achieve it.
The initial focus is on SAF, made from sources such as municipal waste and agricultural waste.
But companies are also working to develop battery- and hydrogen-powered aircraft.
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