
-
US senator smashes record with 25-hour anti-Trump speech
-
Brazil binman finds newborn baby on garbage route
-
US senator smashes record with marathon anti-Trump speech
-
Trump advisor Waltz faces new pressure over Gmail usage
-
Niger junta frees ministers of overthrown government
-
Trump set to unleash 'Liberation Day' tariffs
-
Boeing chief to acknowledge 'serious missteps' at US Senate hearing
-
Real Madrid hold Real Sociedad in eight-goal thriller to reach Copa del Rey final
-
Nuno salutes 'special' Elanga after stunning strike fires Forest
-
PSG survive scare against Dunkerque to reach French Cup final
-
Sundowns edge Esperance as crowd violence mars quarter-final
-
Nottingham Forest beat Man Utd, Saka scores on Arsenal return
-
Elanga wonder-goal sinks Man Utd as Forest eye Champions League berth
-
Stock markets mostly advance ahead of Trump tariffs deadline
-
US movie theaters urge 45-day 'baseline' before films hit streaming
-
Saka scores on return as Arsenal beat Fulham
-
Third-division Bielefeld shock holders Leverkusen in German Cup
-
Ball-blasting 'Torpedo bats' making waves across MLB opening weekend
-
Newsmax shares surge more than 2,000% in days after IPO
-
Thousands of Hungarians protest against Pride ban law
-
GM leads first quarter US auto sales as tariffs loom
-
Tesla sales tumble in Europe in the first quarter
-
No 'eye for an eye' approach to US tariffs: Mexico
-
NFL club owners back dynamic kickoffs, delay tush push vote
-
Trump 'perfecting' new tariffs as nervous world braces
-
Trump nominee says to press UK on Israel arms
-
French court says Le Pen appeal ruling could come before presidential vote
-
The battle to control assets behind Bosnia crisis
-
Prabhsimran powers Punjab to IPL win over Lucknow
-
Mass layoffs targeting 10,000 jobs hit US health agencies
-
Tiger's April Foolishness: plan to play Masters just a joke
-
Myanmar quake toll passes 2,700, nation halts to honour victims
-
Turkish fans, artists urge Muse to cancel Istanbul gig
-
US seeks death penalty for accused killer of insurance CEO
-
UK govt moves to block sentencing guidelines for minority defendants
-
Trump puts world on edge as 'Liberation Day' tariffs loom
-
Swedish journalist jailed in Turkey kept 'isolated': employer
-
Stock markets advance ahead of Trump tariffs deadline
-
Gulf between Everton and Liverpool has never been bigger, says Moyes
-
Finland to withdraw from anti-personnel mine ban treaty
-
UK vows £20 million to boost drone and 'flying taxi' services
-
Ford's US auto sales dip in first quarter as tariffs loom
-
Digging for box office gold, 'A Minecraft Movie' hits cinemas
-
Southampton boss Juric desperate to avoid Premier League 'worst team' tag
-
Thailand rescue dogs double as emotional support
-
Five takeaways from Marine Le Pen verdict
-
Stock markets split ahead of Trump tariffs deadline
-
Turkish fans, artists urge Muse to cancel Istanbul gig over protest dispute
-
Former captain Edwards named new England women's cricket coach
-
Haaland ruled out for up to seven weeks: Man City boss Guardiola

Flying taxis star at Paris Air Show, next stop: the Olympics
Barely making a buzz, a two-seat helicopter powered by an electric battery landed softly on the tarmac at the Paris Air Show after a 15-minute flight.
Such futuristic "flying taxis" are among the star turns of this year's aerospace industry event as they move closer to the day when they can be used by the public.
For the VoloCity made by German firm Volocopter, the next stop is the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, when it plans to ferry passengers across the French capital -- more than a decade after its first test flight.
With a maximum airspeed of 110 kilometres (68 miles) per hour, the 18-rotor aircraft has room for a pilot and a passenger.
"The good news is (that) it's very simple to fly. It has a very clever digital flight control system," said VoloCity pilot Paul Stone, who used to test fighter jets for Britain's Royal Navy.
Experienced helicopter and airplane pilots will be trained to fly the VoloCity, he said.
"The irony is for helicopter pilots, they will have to unlearn many very clever skills and learn to fly an aircraft simply again, because it's much simpler to fly than, say, a helicopter," Stone said.
Volocopter has been conducting test flights in the Paris region for more than a year as it preps for the Olympics.
The company has been working on the project with Groupe ADP, which operates Paris airports, state-owned metro and bus operator RATP, and the Ile-de-France region government.
ADP chief executive Edward Arkwright said more than 20 flights spanning 200 kilometres have taken place.
The air taxi will fly between Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and nearby Paris-Le Bourget Airport as well as a heliport near Versailles and a "vertiport" installed on a barge in the Seine river in southeast Paris.
Ile-de-France president Valerie Pecresse said the region will spend one million euros to build the barge.
Volocopter is waiting for the greenlight from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency for permission to fly by spring 2024.
- 'Not easy market' -
Volocopter has ploughed $600 million into its air taxi -- an expensive endeavour as it has yet to be made available to consumers.
"It's a market not easy to enter, you have high investments," said Christian Bauer, the company's chief financial officer.
"It's a challenge but we're very close to the commercial phase," he said.
The company has already received 300 pre-orders from private firms for its eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft.
In addition to selling aircraft, Volocopter will manage the routes with an app that will enable online reservations.
Whether on not eVTOL aircraft become as easy to take as an Uber is an open question, but the aerospace industry is taking their potential impact seriously and for the first time they have their own dedicated space at the airshow.
Investment hasn't been lacking. A recent study by the Deloitte consultancy found the sector attracted 6 billion euros in investment in 2021, before falling to 2.7 billion in 2022 after the pandemic hit.
"Four years ago it was still a very experimental sector. The market has consolidated a bit and today we have real prototypes and it is becoming a reality," said Jean-Louis Rassineux, a senior partner at Deloitte responsible for the aerospace and defence sectors.
Orders are starting to flow in.
On Monday, the French startup Ascendance Flight Technologies announced another 110 orders for its Atea eVTOL, taking the total to 505.
The US firm Archer has 100 orders for its eVTOL by United Airlines worth more than a billion dollars which will be used as electric air taxis ferrying people from O'Hare International Airport and downtown Chicago.
Its Midnight eVTOL, can carry four passengers in addition to a pilot.
"Midnight is a convenient product which can take you from the airport to city centre for a cost that is similar to a ride share in an Uber ... it can replace a ninety-minute commute by a five-minute commute," Archer's chief executive Adam Goldstein told AFP.
An Uber ride from Charles de Gaulle airport in to central Paris typically costs around $40.
Electric motors help drastically reduce maintenance costs compared to regular helicopters, said Goldstein, who rejected the idea that air mobility should be reserved for the rich, a criticism often addressed at eVTOLs.
Less maintenance requirements not only reduces costs but allows for more flights per day, meaning the price for consumers is lower.
The major aircraft manufacturers are making sure they don't miss out.
Boeing has ploughed money into US startup Wisk Aero, which is presenting an pilotless eVTOL at the airshow.
C.Garcia--AMWN