Air Taxi Operations Planned for Japan; Rides for Low PricesAir Taxi Operations Planned for Japan; Rides for Low Prices

Japanese eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) vehicle maker SkyDrive signed a deal with Kyushu Railway and the government of Oita in Japan to plan air taxi services in the region.

The air taxis would fly within Beppu City and connect the Beppu and Yufuin resorts. Scenic flights over Beppu Bay also are planned.

SkyDrive said its intent is for the cost of traveling on the air to be low enough to compete with conventional taxis.

The electric aerial vehicle (EAV) maker and JR Kyushu plan to “survey potential takeoff and landing sites, evaluate profitability and establish a framework for future flight operations, laying the groundwork for the provision of commercially viable eVTOL services with a target service launch date sometime around 2028,” according to SkyDrive.

Kyushu Railway Company comprises railways with a network throughout the Kyushu region.

Credit: SkyDrive

SkyDrive recently partnered with JetSetGo Aviation Services to expand in India, including the sale of 50 EAVs.

The deal between SkyDrive and JetSetGo was facilitated by Suzuki Motor Corp., which has a collaboration agreement with SkyDrive.

SkyDrive has been working to expand into India since 2022 and established a partnership with the government of Gujarat in early 2024.

JetSetGo and SkyDrive plan to assess the potential for commercial eVTOL operations in the Ahmedabad area and other locations within Gujarat. The deal also included a pre-order from JetSetGo for 50 EAVs.

Related:Air Taxi Company Expands in India, Selling 50 Flying Vehicles

JetSetGo also has a deal with air taxi company Eve Air Mobility to advance the use of Eve’s urban air traffic management system in India.

In addition to its efforts in India, SkyDrive and subway operator Osaka Metro earlier agreed to consider using eVTOL vehicles in the Osaka area in Japan.

The proposed destinations in Osaka are Shin-Osaka/Umeda, Morinomiya, Tennoji/Abeno and the Osaka Bay Area, considered critical hubs for the city’s future mobility network. 

Osaka Metro, an investor in SkyDrive, operates eight subway lines and a driverless tram and carries more than 2 million passengers a day.

The operator was already integrating different subways, buses and taxis in the Osaka area and was selected as the operator of a vertiport outside the Expo site in Osaka.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has accepted a type certification application from SkyDrive, submitted via Japan’s Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB).

SkyDrive aims to obtain FAA type certification along with its expected JCAB type certification in 2026 or later.

SkyDrive and Osaka Metro plan to launch services in the Morinomiya area by 2028, with plans to gradually expand operations through 2030.

Related:Flying Car Company Partners With Japanese Subway Operator

SkyDrive has also been active outside of Japan and India. 

For more flying vehicle and other emerging tech news subscribe to our free newsletter!

For example, SkyDrive, SAI Flight and Greenville Downtown Airport agreed to advance air-cargo, air-taxi and emergency service use cases for flying vehicles in South Carolina.

SAI Flight is a large private jet charter company in South Carolina and Greenville Downtown Airport is the state’s busiest general aviation hub.

The three companies plan to develop use cases for the eVTOL, originating from Greenville downtown airport with support from the Greenville City Economic Development and the Greenville area development corporations. 

SAI Flight also placed a pre-order for 10 of the SkyDrive EAVs. 

SkyDrive also has a strategic alliance with F&E Aircraft Maintenance (FEAM Aero) for the maintenance, support and scalability of its eVTOLs nationally.

SkyDrive has a local subsidiary in the U.S. and the deal with FEAM Aero in Miami is likely to help grow that operation. FEAM Aero supports more than 130,000 flights annually, servicing major airlines, cargo carriers, regional airlines and private operators.

Related:Air Taxi Company Expands Platform in India

SkyDrive is collaborating with FEAM Aero and other U.S. partners “to develop practical use cases and tailor its offerings based on the current, real-world state of the advanced air mobility (AAM) industry,” according to the company.

SkyDrive also is turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to aid in the design of its flying vehicles. 

SkyDrive partnered with Braid Technologies to use AI to generate thousands of design patterns to fine-tune the structure of its EAV.

Scientists, engineers and designers at the startup use AI, physics and mathematics to automatically discover high performance advanced engineering designs.

SkyDrive was established in 2018 and conducted its first crewed flight test in Japan in 2019.

The SkyDrive SD-05 vehicle, which SkyDrive refers to as a flying car, is being built by Sky Works, the SkyDrive manufacturing division, in partnership with Suzuki.

The manufacturing plant has the capability to produce 100 of the three-seater EAVs a year.

SkyDrive also has agreed to sell EAVs to an aerial tourism association in Japan and received a preorder for vehicles from the MASC General Incorporated Association, a group dedicated to promoting aerial tourism in Setouchi Islands in western Japan.

Showrooms for EAVs are in preparation, such as those by Florida-based Aeroauto Global, which has two planned in Florida and one being developed in Austin, Texas, and a showroom has been opened in Germany by EAV developer Pal-V.

In other U.S. activity, SkyDrive and Bravo Air formed a partnership to develop use cases from Augusta Regional Airport to scale AAM in the region.

The Bravo Air deal expands SkyDrive into Georgia, with SkyDrive planning an air taxi network connecting Augusta Regional Airport to destinations across the region.

SkyDrive started production of its flying vehicle at a Suzuki manufacturing plant in Shizuoka, Japan.

SkyDrive partnered with the Kansai Electric Power Company to develop high-speed charging facilities for EAVs with the first station planned.

SkyDrive received $82 million in a grant from the Japanese government, when the country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry selected SkyDrive for the Next Generation Air Mobility Field, part of an innovation promotion project.

SkyDrive’s stated vision is “to create a future where everyone has access to eVTOLs as their daily transportation in Japan and across the world.”