Sydney Seaplanes orders fleet of electric air taxis to provide escape from Sydney traffic

Escaping Sydney’s congested roads in electric air taxis is set to become a reality in under five years.

Escaping Sydney’s notorious traffic congestion in emissions-free aerial taxis is set to become a reality in under five years.

Sydney Seaplanes has lodged an order for 50 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles with Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions, with the first deliveries due in 2026.

To operate initially from the company’s Rose Bay terminal, Sydney Seaplanes CEO Aaron Shaw said there would also be opportunities to fly from the new Western Sydney Airport.

He said the cost to passengers would be on par with that of an Uber ride over the same distance, with a flight from Rose Bay to Palm Beach costing about $150.

“The point of electric aircraft is that the operating costs are far lower than for traditional aircraft and the time in an aircraft is far less than in a car,” Mr Shaw said.

“A trip that might take an hour and 15-minutes in an Uber, might cost the same in an aerial taxi but it would take under 10-minutes.”

Mr Shaw said Sydney Seaplanes believed the time was right to be developing an ecosystem for electric aircraft given the aviation industry’s 2050 target of zero emissions, and increasing road congestion.

“Most large cities in the world are looking at eVTOL as a supplement to large scale public transport services,” he said.

“Sydney certainly has its congestion problems and we see this type of technology as one way to help alleviate congestion.”

Seating four passengers and a pilot, eVTOL aircraft are in line to be used during the 2032 Brisbane Olympics as well as in Melbourne in coming years.

Eve chief executive Andre Stein said the Greater Sydney market offered significant potential for scaled urban air mobility operations to improve the efficiency of movement in the city.

“We are pleased to work with Sydney Seaplanes as they seek to bring new mobility solutions to Sydney,” said Mr Stein.

“Eve will support this new partnership with comprehensive solutions for aircraft operations including air traffic management solutions, maintenance, training and other services.”

Sydney Seaplanes CEO Aaron Shaw. Picture: Adam Yip

It is not Sydney Seaplanes first foray into emissions-free flying with the company planning to convert a Cessna Caravan to all electric by 2024.

The aircraft will be used on regional flights between Sydney, Canberra and Newcastle, and could easily connect to new aerial taxi services, Mr Shaw said.

“What we’d like to see when this technology comes on line, is passengers arriving into Rose Bay from Canberra and transferring through that hub to anywhere in greater Sydney,” he said.

“You could travel from Canberra to Manly in an hour and five minutes, or from Newcastle to Cronulla in a similar time frame.”

With Western Sydney Airport due to open in 2026, there was a great opportunity for eVTOL services to connect to a whole variety of places throughout the region, said Mr Shaw.

“You could fly from Western Sydney to Barangaroo,” he said.

“There’s a lot of work to be done between now and 2026 to get the ecosystem for eVTOL ready but we want to pay a significant part in the development of that ecosystem.”