Japan aims to launch flying car business in fiscal 2025

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.