Japan Airlines (JAL) plans to enter the flying car business in the fiscal year 2025, Report mentions, referring to Nikkei.
The airline will start a passenger transportation service connecting airports and tourist destinations in Mie Prefecture, among other areas. It plans to develop the business into one that can carry people around various locations as a taxi does.
JAL will use the aircraft of Volocopter, a German startup in which it invested in 2020. It is a two-seater drone-type aircraft called eVTOL, or electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, with a cruising range of 35 km. It can fly at up to 110 km per hour.
First, it will experiment with flights over a short distance of 20 km before considering a medium distance of 50 to 150 km that connects local cities.
JAL not only plans to operate the service as a transportation company but also to sell operator services such as operator training and safety management to other transportation companies. Its rival All Nippon Airways (ANA Holdings) is also considering a similar transportation service in the fiscal year 2025.