Uber’s New Air Taxi Cabin

Uber Elevate, earlier this week at its Summit in Washington D.C, unveiled the interior design for its future air taxis.

Uber’s new cabin design was built in collaboration with Safran Cabin. Safran, a global leader in aviation design, has been working closely with the UAM industry. Most recently, Safran was has been involved with developing propulsion systems specifically for eVTOLs.

In the design of the new cabin, Safran and Uber considered the main requirements of rider comfort, modifiability for different eVTOLs, manufacturing scalability, cost, and safety. The idea behind the cabin is that it can serve as standard for eVTOL makers, meaning that they use the cabin specifications as they build their aircraft. In an ideal world, this cabin type will be featured in all Uber Air eVTOLs.

A photo from Uber of passengers embarking the Safran/Uber cabin

Said Scott Savian, EVP of ZEO at Safran Cabin:
“Through the process with Uber, we had six full-scale mockups, with multiple iterations in each one, looking at the seats, liners, and window positioning. We don’t want any excess weight or cost, but the mission also requires safety, a comfortable user experience, and a seamlessness of all the user interactions. So while the cabin may be minimal in some ways, it’s absolutely purpose built to the mission.”

The cabin represents what Uber and Safran call ‘Mission Driven’ design. The cabin features room for four passengers plus a pilot, as well as plenty of room for extra baggage. The cabin is simple, yet well thought out. It includes plenty of legroom for each passenger, outwardly tilted for privacy and for the view, and handles for easy embarking and disembarking.

Why it’s important: Uber and Safran’s new cabin represents one of the first manufacturing standards in eVTOL design. While certain performance requirements have already begun to emerge, the cabin is the first component that gives eVTOL makers specifications for how their vehicles should look and be designed. Ideally, the cabin prototype gives us our first look at what eVTOL travel will be like.