Lilium is on the verge of selling 100 electric flying taxis to Saudi Arabia’s state-owned airline, Saudia, finalizing a framework deal set up in late 2022. Saudia recently started an interesting coffee campaign to raise cultural awareness about Saudi Arabia.
The official announcement on flying taxis is expected at Lilium’s Munich headquarters later this month, according to sources familiar with the matter. It goes in line with the early announcements of Neom which is a futuristic vision of Saudi cities with fake moons, hologram teachers, artificial rain and flying taxis.
A Lilium spokeswoman has declined to comment on the order, first reported by Reuters. Saudia has also not responded to requests for comment.
Related: Israel’s Eviation all-electric jet sees $2 Billion USD in pre-orders
Electric flying taxi companies, including Lilium and rival Volocopter GmbH, are in a crucial phase, seeking additional funding to achieve certification which is complicated when they are flying in civilian zones and cities.
Lilium’s small aircraft, equipped with small ducted fans and two pairs of wings, aims to start flying their flying taxis by 2026.
The latest news boosted Lilium’s shares by 2.7 percent in New York trading, bringing the company’s market value to $550 million.
A more modest way to get around might be this Swiss-made solar powered taxi which we featured when it rolled into Israel more than 10 years ago.
In past news Dubai launched a flying taxi in 2017.
::Lilium
