00:00 Speaker A
Well, flying taxis over the New York City skyline may soon be a reality. Vertical Aerospace has unveiled plans for its Velo electric aircraft in New York. The service is expected to launch in 2028, subject to approval. Pras Subramanian is with me. Plath, please guide me through it.
00:14 Prath Subramanian
Before we start this service, I want to talk to you about the aircraft, Velo, right? So it’s EVTOL, TOL, right? So it’s electric vertical takeoff and landing. Um, so it all runs on batteries and electric motors. Uh, the range is about 100 miles or so and the flying speed is about 150 miles per hour. This thing can seat six people plus a pilot. Uh that’s a luxurious cabin configuration. and all luggage. This is a big deal, right? So they thought, you know, they wanted to sell this thing, this Velo, to real uh airlines and other businesses. They don’t want to run it. They want to be the manufacturer and other airlines like American Airlines and Japan Airlines are the customers. They will use these things to transport customers from one place to another. Uh, you know, before the flight takes off. This is the business model. They call it urban air mobility. Uh looks promising. It’s quiet and clean here. Well, the question is can they get certified in the next few years to 2028? This is their big goal and they think once they can do this, the sky is the limit.
01:21 Speaker A
What are the specific plans for New York? How do they talk about this? What are the use cases?
01:28 Prath Subramanian
So, uh basically airlines want to be able to take people from the airport to Manhattan, right? Instead of using something like Uber. So this is the next method. So they’re talking about an eight-minute flight from lower Manhattan to JFK. Correct? The cost is approximately the cost per passenger of an Uber Black ride, right? So it’s not, you know, Uber Black, $150 for the whole car. It’s about 150 per person here. So it’s not cheap, but it’s not ridiculously expensive either. You want to get to JFK quickly, you’re going to pay for it, right? That’s the goal. You can see the map here, JFK, Newark, Teterboro, and finally East Hampton.
02:05 Speaker A
Business model, professionals, please walk me through it. How do they do that, how do they make money?
02:11 Prath Subramanian
Well, they’re going to sell the aircraft to their customers, their partners, like Japan Airlines, but also American Airlines. And Bristol Group is also a helicopter operating company. They manage fleets around the world. They will be their partners in New York City, flying air taxis from one place to another. So their plan is to sell their handicrafts.
02:37 Speaker A
By the way, who are their competitors?
02:39 Prath Subramanian
Uh Joby is a big shot. Joby Aviation. They know they bought the Blade uh and they have their own electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. But Joby, my understanding is that they want to actually manage their aircraft and they will lease the aircraft through them, not the other way around. But I think Joby will work with Uber so that Uber can do this. So it all depends on how you want to own and operate the aircraft or if you just want to sell the aircraft. It’s kind of a mix.
03:09 Speaker A
OK Thank you, Plath. Appreciate it.