Flying taxis may not be too far away from take-off in the UK as long-haul airliner, Virgin Atlantic, has just announced a partnership with US air taxi developer Joby Aviation.
The partnership is expected to offer short-range regional and city connections from Virgin Atlantic’s hubs at Heathrow and Manchester Airport.
Joby’s fully electric air taxi is designed to carry one pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200mph. 
If you were to use this service, Virgin estimate a journey from Manchester Airport to Leeds could take as little as 15 minutes and only 8 minutes from Heathrow to Canary Wharf.
If you were traveling via car, this would knock 72 minutes off your usual commute and dramatically reduce travel times.
The aircraft itself has six tilting propellers for vertical landing and take-off, is optimised for rapid back-to-back flights and is expected to be deployed on routes of up to 100 miles.
Shai Weiss, CEO of Virgin Atlantic, said: “As a leader in sustainability and with innovation firmly in our DNA, we are delighted to be partnering with Joby to bring short-haul, zero-emission flight to airports and cities throughout the UK.
“Our strategic partnership combines Joby’s expertise in design, engineering and technology with the power of Virgin Atlantic’s brand and award-winning customer experience.
“We look forward to working together to bring Joby’s service to the UK and to deliver greater connectivity for our customers.”
Joby’s London Hub has a network map of services across all airports in the capitol and connections to Brighton, Canterbury, Cambridge, Oxford, Reading, Birmingham, Norwich and Portsmouth.
Through its Manchester Hub services are planned to operate through Manchester Airport, Liverpool, Leeds, Nottingham, Sheffield, Stoke-on-Trent, Derby, York and Hull.
According to Joby, the aircraft is also said to produce a fraction of the noise currently made by helicopters and has completed thousands of test flights in New York City, Japan and Korea.
On the topic of infrastructure concerns, Virgin confirmed it will work alongside Joby to engage with regulators and build support for the development of Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (EVTOL) facilities at key airports.
Also commenting on the announcement, JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby said: “Together, we are committed to delivering faster options for mobility across the country, including for Virgin Atlantic and Delta customers as they head to the airport or move between UK towns and cities.”
Customers will be able to reserve seats via Virgin Atlantic's app, website and other channels when the services officially launch, though no definitive launch date has been announced.
Despite this uncertainty, Joby has confirmed that it expects to offer prices comparable with existing premium ground ridesharing options when the service begins.