Soon you will be able to fly in a taxi. NASA, Uber join hands

Image courtesy: Uber/Twitter

New Delhi: Flying in a taxi might soon become a reality, thanks to the new partnership between US space agency NASA and transportation company Uber.

Uber unveiled a partnership that will see it collaborating with NASA to develop flying taxis which will priced competitively with standard Uber journeys.

Uber also announced Los Angeles will join two other previously revealed "UberAIR" pilot schemes in Dallas Fort-Worth, Texas, and Dubai.

"Uber's participation in NASA's UTM (Unmanned Traffic Management) Project will help the company's goal of starting demonstration flights of uberAIR in select US cities by 2020," the ride-sharing company said in a statement.

With a view to open a new market for urban air mobility, Uber wants to explore this opportunity, which begin commercial operations by the year 2023, says a report.

The first demonstration flights are expected in 2020, moving into commercial operations by 2023 -- in plenty of time for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

The flights will have a pilot during initial flights, but could be automated in the future, spokesman Matthew Wing confirmed to AFP.

An UberAir journey between Los Angeles' airport and the Staples Center arena, for example, would take 27 minutes, three times less time than the same journey by car.

A promotional video illustrated the app would work in a similar way to the current set-up for ordering a car ride.

(With Agency inputs)