At a distance and in profile, the electric vertical takeoff and landing (e-VTOL) aircraft being developed by Munich-based Lilium looks like a car without wheels, its streamlined body set against the skyline like a coupe ready to zip down an invisible highway.
Nose-on, it looks more like a small plane, with a compact cabin complemented by thin, enamel-white wings atop fan systems that provide vertical lift similar to a helicopter’s.
Not long ago that may have seemed like something out of a sci-fi cartoon, more aspirational than realistic. Now it’s a tangible example of the kind of e-VTOL aircraft that could soon be headed to New York City and other major centers around the world.
Lilium is one of several manufacturers that could supply e-VTOL aircraft to a system coordinated by Blade, a smartphone app-driven aviation company frequently compared to Uber.
Blade already coordinates helicopter charters with its smartphone app, drawing on a fleet of Airbus AS350s, AS355 TwinStars and AS365 Dauphins; Bell 407s and 429s; and Leonardo aircraft that its partners supply.
The company sees e-VTOL aircraft as complementary to its rotorcraft services, covering similar distances and following the same rules as helicopters, but with lower noise emissions and a smaller environmental footprint.
“We’re a long way off from this being a replacement solution — this is not unlike where we were with electric cars five years ago,” said Rob Wiesenthal, CEO of Blade.
While Uber hopes to launch air taxi services in Dallas and Dubai by 2020, Blade is distancing itself from the air taxi label.
The typical length of an e-VTOL flight with Blade will depend on how much weight the aircraft can carry on a single battery charge, but it will not be a matter of hopping in for a few blocks.
“We don’t like the term air taxis — at least for now,” said Wiesenthal. “We don’t think they’re going to be the price of a ride-sharing car at the start. However, we’re viewing e-VTOL as a very attractive alternative to conventional rotorcraft, especially for the beginning.”
Blade envisions a co-habitation phase in which e-VTOLs would coexist with helicopters in New York and would, “likely follow the same rules, altitudes, and routes as conventional rotorcraft to start,” said Wiesenthal.
He wouldn’t say how much a typical e-VTOL flight would cost, or when such aircraft would begin carrying passengers, citing the need for the aircraft’s approval by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
“Our strategy is to wait for FAA approval and then to methodically add them into our accessible fleet as quickly as possible — but using the existing infrastructure,” said Wiesenthal.
“Once that is accomplished, we will be in a great position to assess the additional infrastructure needs in our key operating areas given the inherent flexibility of these aircrafts.”
All Blade e-VTOL flights would be arranged through the Blade app, which currently connects customers on several short routes in Florida, California and New York.
It is perhaps best known for its New York City routes for destinations in the Hamptons, but the company also actively services the Los Angeles region, with routes to Santa Monica, Van Nuys, Montecito, Palm Springs, San Diego and Burbank.
The company also offers an airport transfer service called Blade Bounce that carries passengers between Manhattan and surrounding airports.
Under an exclusive partnership with Delta Air Lines, arriving passengers at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) are met on the jetbridge and taken down the stairs directly to the tarmac to an awaiting high-end car, avoiding the terminal altogether.
The car carries them to an already-spinning helicopter that flies to Manhattan in about five minutes. Blade also has three lounges in Manhattan where passengers can be dropped off, and passengers departing out of JFK are escorted through TSA security in an expedited manner.
The Delta experience costs about $1,250 with a six-seat private private helicopter, but Blade also offers rides to JFK starting at $195 on a by-the-seat basis.
“We’re excited about the Delta partnership,” said Wiesenthal. “We think this is a big game changer in terms of reducing the friction that people have either traveling to or from the airport in New York. We turn what can be a two-hour car drive into a five-minute flight.”
“Blade is also actively exploring opportunities in Europe and is close to releasing a ‘cabin class’ product that would use twin-engine, executive aircraft like the Leonardo AW139 and Sikorsky S-76,” said Wiesenthal.
As for the arrival of e-VTOL aircraft in the skies above New York City, it will depend on the capabilities of the technology, as well as regulatory approval.
Lilium has already had a successful first flight of its e-VTOL aircraft, and several other manufacturers are working on similar initiatives, including Airbus Helicopters and Bell Helicopter.
“I’m relying on manufacturers to get these into production and I’m relying on the FAA to approve them, two gating factors out of my control,” said Wiesenthal. “It is happening. Sooner than most people believe. And we have to prepare for it.”
