NEW YORK - United Airlines plans to buy 200 flying electric taxis to ferry passengers to airports within the next five years.

The US carrier will also invest in flying taxi firm Archer as part of a $1.1 billion (£800 million) deal to develop the small aircraft.

The taxis will be capable of flying a distance of 60 miles at 150 miles an hour.

 “With the right technology, we can curb the impact aircraft have on the planet, but we have to identify the next generation of companies who will make this a reality early and find ways to help them get off the ground,” United Airlines chief executive Scott Kirby said.


VW explores flying cars in China


Recent advances in automotive technology has led to rapid progress in electric vehicles and autonomous driving. The next step for car companies is “vertical mobility”.

Volkswagen has joined a growing number of firms looking into the potential of flying cars and is conducting a feasibility study in China, Reuters reports.

“Beyond autonomous driving the concept of vertical mobility could be a next step to take our mobility approach into the future,” especially in China, the German company said in a statement. “Therefore we are investigating potential concepts and partners in a feasibility study to identify the possibility to industrialise this approach.”


An F1 car for the skies


Flying cars may be a futuristic concept, but they do already exist in the form of commercial jetpacks, flying motorbikes and personal air taxis.

The “autonomous urban aircraft market is still a bit of a Wild West”, the BBC says, but there are dozens of companies competing to launch products. The broadcaster added: “Flying cars are real - and they could shape how we commute, work and live in the coming decades.”

While flying cars may sound far-fetched, new lightweight materials, better batteries, and sophisticated computer controls means these visions aren’t unrealistic, Wired reported.

One company that is developing flying cars/small aircraft is DeLorean Aerospace. Launched in 2012 by Paul DeLorean, nephew of John DeLorean, the founder of the company whose car starred in the Back to the Future films, the company’s ambition is to develop a real life flying car.

Other companies pursuing plans include Uber, Airbus, Kitty Hawk, Joby, Lilium, and Volocopter. In November Lilium said it would set up its first US hub near Orlando, “putting more than 20 million Floridians within range of its winged electric aircraft that can take off vertically and cover 300km (185 miles)”, Reuters reports.