Melbourne will be the first international pilot city for Uber Air, with test flights scheduled to start from 2020 and commercial operations to commence from 2023.
Taking Uber’s tech to the sky, Uber Air aims to open up urban air mobility, and help alleviate transport congestion on the ground. In the long term, Uber’s vision is for electric vehicles to transport tens of thousands of people across cities for the same price as an UberX trip over the same distance.
Susan Anderson, regional general manager for Uber in Australia, New Zealand and North Asia made the announcement at Uber’s global Elevate (Uber Air) Summit in Washington on June 11.
She said: “Since we entered the market in 2012, Australians have embraced Uber wholeheartedly. Today, over 3.8 million Aussies regularly use Uber as a reliable way to get from A to B, and governments across the country have recognised the important role ridesharing plays in the future of transport for our cities.”
“Australian governments have adopted a forward-looking approach to ridesharing and future transport technology. This, coupled with Melbourne’s unique demographic and geospatial factors, and culture of innovation and technology, makes Melbourne the perfect third launch city for Uber Air. We will see other Australian cities following soon after.”
According to Anderson, the state government of Victoria, Australia has been highly supportive of the programme.
Congestion is a growing concern for cities around the world, and Australia is not immune – congestion currently costs Australia US$16.5 billion annually and increasing to around US$30 billion by 2030.
Eric Allison, the global head of Uber Elevate, said: “As major cities grow, the heavy reliance on private car ownership will not be sustainable. Uber Air holds enormous potential to help reduce road congestion. For example, the 19km journey from the CBD to Melbourne airport can take anywhere from 25 minutes to around an hour by car in peak hour but with Uber Air this will take around 10 minutes.”
“Uber’s technology is changing the way people move around their cities – from bikes to pooled rides, we are always looking for ways to reduce the need for private car ownership. In the coming years, with Uber Air, we want to make it possible for people to push a button and get a flight.”
Uber also announced partnerships with leading Australian companies, Macquarie, Telstra and Scentre Group, owner and operator of Westfield in Australia and New Zealand and will work with key existing partners including Melbourne Airport who collectively will support the infrastructure and telecommunications needed to create a successful urban aviation network.
“As the gateway to Melbourne for tens of millions of travellers each year, we can see fantastic potential for Uber Air in the future. We look forward to continuing this exciting conversation, and working with government, regulators and our local communities to make this happen,” said Lorie Argus, chief of parking & ground access at Melbourne Airport.
Andrew Penn, CEO, Telstra added that the company will be working closely with Uber over the next 12 months to assess what network infrastructure, connectivity requirements and other capabilities would be needed to support airspace mobility in urban centres.
China Eastern launches two flights to Myanmar
Air New Zealand plans to launch five-times-weekly seasonal flights between Christchurch and Singapore this winter to appeal to the strong travel demand from South and South-east Asia.
Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines currently offer a 10-times-weekly service between Christchurch and Singapore. The seasonal flights will bring the frequency of the service to 15 times weekly in the December 1, 2019 to February 15, 2020 period.
The airline is also deploying the larger Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft on the route, which would increase capacity including in the premium economy category.
Cam Wallace, chief revenue officer, Air New Zealand, said: “We have seen strong demand for travel to New Zealand in the South and South-east Asia market, and we expect (the additional flights to) appeal to travellers in this region.
Singapore is likely to continue serving as Air New Zealand’s South-east Asia hub. On the airline’s strategy in growing outbound markets Indonesia and Malaysia, where it does not fly to directly, Wallace said: “Both are key growth markets for Air New Zealand in South-east Asia as we continue to see strong demand from travellers in the region. At this stage, both markets are being well served through our recently renewed alliance with Singapore Airlines, providing connectivity through Changi Airport.
“Capitalising on its strategic geographical location, excellent air connectivity and world-class infrastructure, we are seeing plenty of opportunities to grow our presence in the region through our operations in Singapore. We will continue to assess opportunities across markets and leverage our well-established partner network in the region to capture demand.”
Meanwhile, Christchurch is expected to grow in appeal, benefitting from new destination offerings and intensified sales and marketing efforts.
“Christchurch is building new experiences at a phenomenal rate, with new bars, restaurants and artworks going up quicker than anywhere else in New Zealand. This new seasonal Singapore-Christchurch service complements the MoU signed between the airline and Christchurch city agencies in September 2018 committing to exploring joint marketing, enhanced freight and passenger capacity, and signature events.”
“These changes reinforce Christchurch and the South Island as a priority market for Air New Zealand, as we seek to leverage the strength of both airlines to deliver increased connections into the domestic New Zealand network,” Wallace said.
The airline is also running a tactical campaign with Christchurch Airport to promote South Island.
The campaign will span offline and online media buys to increase the awareness of New Zealand and Air New Zealand to consumers in Singapore, targeting the family market and professionals, managers, executives and businessmen.
“We are also working with key agents to develop new itineraries for the South Island,” he said.