Uber Plans To Launch Flying Cars By 2020

Uber Technologies Inc. plans to roll out flying cars with a pilot in the Dallas-Fort Worth area by 2020 and flights in Dubai at Expo2020, the company's chief product officer, Jeff Holden, said Tuesday. The goal is to cut in-transit time. In a live stream presentation from the Uber Elevate Summit, Holden said the company's models suggest flying cars could cost $1.32 per passenger mile, about the same rate as UberX, and later fall below the cost per mile of an owned vehicle. The flying-car option would eventually be available in the Uber app. Uber said it is working with aircraft manufacturers, including Aurora Flight Services and Pipistrel Aircraft, which are slated to build the flying cars using VTOL Technology, or technology for vertical take-off aircraft, and with real-estate companies in the two cities to build landing pads for the cars. Holden said he expects the number of cities with flying cars to grow rapidly. Uber has been piloting self-driving cars in cities across the U.S. but has run into regulatory difficulties, a hurdle it's also certain to face with flying vehicles. A startup backed by Alphabet Chief Executive Larry Page unveiled its flying car Monday, in a race with many other technology companies.