Watch a Five-Seater Air Taxi's Maiden Flight

The all-electric craft is designed to fly 186 miles in just one hour.

Jet Setter

German startup Lilium doesn't just want to fly you around in an air taxi — it wants to fly you and your squad.

While many companies in the same space have focused on developing flying cars with just two seats, the startup has spent the past two years working on the Lilium Jet, an air taxi that seats five.

And the effort seems to have paid off, because the company just shared a video of the craft's maiden voyage — a stunning sign that we're inching closer to a future in which flying cars soar through our skies.

What Goes Up

The all-electric Lilium Jet has a top speed of 300 kmh (186 mph) and a range of 300 kilometers (186 miles), according to a press release.

The maiden flight didn't test either of those limits — in the video, the craft lifts straight up into the air and straight back down — but it did mark a major milestone along Lilium's path to an expected 2025 launch of its on-demand air taxi service in cities across the globe.

"We dream of a world where anyone can fly wherever they want, whenever they want," Lilium co-founder and CEO Daniel Wiegand said in the press release. "We’ve invested a tremendous amount of thought and care into designing an aircraft and a service that will let us deliver this, meeting society’s demands for urban air travel that is quiet, safe, and environmentally positive."

More on Lilium: Flying-car Company Aims to Make On-Demand Air Taxis Happen by 2025

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