---
title: "Watch a Five-Seater Air Taxi’s Maiden Flight"
description: "## Jet Setter"
date: "2019-05-16"
modified: "2019-05-16"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin Houser"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/five-seater-air-taxi-maiden-flight"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
tags:
  - "advanced transportation"
  - "air taxi"
  - "the digest"
---

# Watch a Five-Seater Air Taxi’s Maiden Flight

![German startup Lilium has developed an air taxi capable of seating five people — and after two years of development, the craft finally took flight.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/five-seater-air-taxi-maiden-flight.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Lilium\</em\>*

## 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](<https://futurism.com/dubais-autonomous-flying-taxi-service-will-be-ready-for-takeoff-this-year>), the startup has spent the past two years working on the [Lilium Jet](<https://lilium.com/the-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.

https://youtu.be/8qotuu8JjQM

## 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](<https://lilium.com/newsroom-detail/lilium-reveals-new-air-taxi-as-it-celebrates-maiden-flight>).

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](<https://futurism.com/flying-car-company-aims-to-make-on-demand-air-taxis-happen-by-2025>) 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."

**READ MORE:** [Lilium reveals new air taxi as it celebrates maiden flight](<https://lilium.com/newsroom-detail/lilium-reveals-new-air-taxi-as-it-celebrates-maiden-flight>) \[Lilium\]

**More on Lilium:** *[Flying-car Company Aims to Make On-Demand Air Taxis Happen by 2025](<https://futurism.com/flying-car-company-aims-to-make-on-demand-air-taxis-happen-by-2025>)*

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinjhouser>)