Uber’s Flying ‘Urban Air Taxi’ Concept Just Debuted, And We Want a Ride Immediately

Talk about a 5-star ride.

Bell Helicopter is backing up its previously announced partnership with Uber by revealing a mock up of its planned Uber air taxi at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

So far it is just a bare cabin of the planned four-seat “on-demand mobility aircraft,” but it starts to give future customers an idea of what the helicopter maker and taxi provider have in mind for airborne travel.

“Bell Helicopter is innovating at the limits of vertical flight and challenging the traditional notion of aviation to solve real-world problems,” said Bell Helicopter’s president and CEO Mitch Snyder. “The future of urban air taxi is closer than many people realize,” he asserted. “We believe in the positive impact our design will have on addressing transportation concerns in cities worldwide.”

The cabin’s interior includes infotainment for passengers, including news and the ability to participate in conference calls and share documents. CES attendees are trying Bell’s augmented reality simulator inside the cabin to get a feel for various scenarios, from a red-carpet premiere landing to several cross-city day and night trips.

Dunno how many of us will be using the Bell air taxi to attend “red-carpet premiers,” but if the movie star scenario is the most far-fetched aspect of this Uber air taxi simulation, then maybe we will be flying through the air sooner than we realize, as Snyder promises.