It seems that India may not have to wait unbearably long to greet Uber’s futuristic air taxi services. If media reports are to be believed then India has been enlisted among the important markets for Uber’s air taxi service that is slated for launch in 2023 in the U.S.
Talking to Economic Times on the sidelines of Uber Elevate summit 2019, Nikhil Goel, head of product (aviation) at Uber said that the company over the last one year has been holding discussions with several regulators and has hold talks even with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Goel specified that company’s talks with former aviation minister Jayant Sinha proved fruitful and productive.
Eric Allison, head of Uber Elevate, also confirmed the positive discussions that the company has had with aviation ministry as well as government representatives. He too reiterated that India is in “top of the list of the next places we want to go to.”
Last year, Uber had already announced that Los Angeles and Dallas as two cities where it will start pilot testing their flying taxi services. The next stop for Uber Air taxi services would be Melbourne, Australia, which would become the first city outside the US to operate Uber’s futuristic aviation product. The ride-hailing major is aiming for commercial launch of Uber Air in all these three cities by 2023.
San Francisco based company is pretty upbeat about its Uber Air services as it believes that in near future traveling via air will become more economically cheaper than driving a car.
But for how long will Indian skies have to wait for Uber’s flying taxis. While the company refuses to give any exact timeline for the launch, Allison said that the services may be launched in India in next 5-10 years. Japan, France and Brazil are other international markets where ride-hailing giant is planning to launch Uber Air services.