Airbus Hopes to Become the Uber of the Skies with New Division

Airbus has appointed Eduardo Dominguez Puerta Head of Urban Air Mobility (UAM), a new Airbus unit, effective 1 June 2018 that will integrate various units of the company, including Voom, the on-demand helicopter service and an autonomous flying cab  

Voom, the world's premier on-demand helicopter booking platform, is now joining Airbus Helicopters as part of the company’s strategy to provide a new form of transportation for urbanites. 

“Urban transportation on and below ground is reaching its limits, and naturally Airbus is looking to the skies to redefine a third axis for public transportation solutions,” said Matthieu Louvot, Airbus Helicopters Executive Vice-President Customer Support and Services. “Voom will allow us to grow the usage of existing helicopters for the benefit of urban citizens and operators. With Voom we will also explore and develop new business models in order to support our innovation roadmap.”

As part of its bold vision for the future of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) systems, Airbus is exploring a range of breakthrough urban mobility solutions. This includes on-demand helicopter rides for events; the four passenger, self-piloted CityAirbus eVTOL demonstrator; the single passenger, self-piloted Vahana eVTOL aircraft by A^3; the Altiscope project by A^3 helping to shape future regulations and air traffic control requirements to safely integrate eVTOL aircraft in urban skies; autonomous urban parcel delivery by drones through the Skyways project; and finally the Racer high-speed demonstrator, which aims to connect the heart of distant cities.

Projects that will also be overseen is an autonomous flying cab prototype called CityAirbus, an electric flying taxi named Vahana.