The taxis themselves are still under development.
In the USA, United Airlines Holdings made an advance of $10 million to Archer Aviation for 100 flying taxis, reports The Wall Street Journal.
“There's a lot of talk in our industry about orders and paper agreements, but this is the first time there's been a real monetary commitment,” said Archer co-founder and chairman Adam Goldstein.
The machine itself is still under development. It is assumed that the taxi will be able to take off and land vertically, like a helicopter, and transport four passengers through the air to bypass traffic jams.
Read also: Unmanned taxi service launched in southern China
At the moment, US regulators have not yet issued approval for the use of flying taxis. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is studying a new type of transport, developing requirements for pilots and trying to find ways to integrate such machines into the airspace.
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After news of the prepayment of 100 aerotaxi shares, Archer shares jumped 14.4% in premarket trading on Thursday. At the same time, during the previous six months, the company's capitalization fell by 30%, to $1.07 billion. Archer made an IPO last September.
