And it remains, for the near future, the domain of the rich.
So, whats the controversy with Jenner?
Kylie Jenners Jet Landed in Van Nuys, California, US.
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Even worse, she allegedly traveled 30 minutes by car in the opposite direction to take theflight.
Her carbon footprint for one ten minute flight, is more than some people make in a year.
And theyre not always all that green.
Its bookable via the Uber app, including a last mile journey to the helipad.
There are alsoBladehelicopters available in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and other cities.
(Thats a distance of about 19 miles by car and about 14 miles by air.)
Yes, a five-minute journey.
That makes Kylie Jenners trip look positively long-haul.
And, they arent getting all that many people out of their cars.
Will wereallyget eVTOLs for the cost of an Uber?
eVTOLs promise a future of point-to-point on-demand transport for the price of an Uber.
Thats a pretty lofty aim considering the eVTOL industry is building never-before-seen aircraft.
All to fly a fairly modest number of people in the first few years.
How many people can afford those kinds of costs?
Further, an eVTOL costs millions to build.
Then theres the cost of infrastructure and training and hiring specialist pilots.
Were a long way from cost-effective, equal access people carrying.
I place a lot of hope in medium and long-haul distance flights, especially using already established regional airports.
But Im less convinced about the viability of short-trip eVTOLs.
I predict that for at least the first decade, these will price out all but the rich.
Story byCate Lawrence
Cate Lawrence is an Australian tech journo living in Berlin.
