Uber Elevate and GE Aviation Team to Enhance Safety for Next-Generation Ridesharing

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Uber Elevate selected GE Aviation’s Digital Group as an ecosystem partner for their aerial ridesharing program. The initial phase of this program will develop requirements for a flight data monitoring program to support electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles on the Uber platform.

“This partnership will help expand our digital innovation as the travel industry continues to evolve,” said Andrew Coleman, general manager of GE Aviation’s Digital Group. “We’re able to bring our experience in digital across the travel ecosystem by helping travelers reach their destination safely and efficiently.”

The Uber Elevate team is working toward transforming the world through aerial ridesharing at scale. Initial launch of its Uber Air service is planned for 2023 utilizing electric VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft in Dallas and Los Angeles.

“Safety is a core value for Uber Elevate – we are voluntarily implementing a safety management system and developing voluntary programs that have yielded proven safety benefits for the aviation industry,” said John Illson, head of aviation safety with Uber Elevate.

Flight Data Monitoring (FDM), is the process of analyzing and reviewing routinely recorded flight data. Airlines and operators that adopt Flight Data Monitoring are better able to identify and eliminate potential safety hazards in flight operations. Since its introduction in the airline industry more than 20 years ago, Flight Data Monitoring has been widely credited with reducing incident and accident rates at airlines and aircraft operators where it has been adopted.

GE Aviation’s Flight Data Monitoring program and industry experience working with some of the world’s largest flight data bench marking programs made this partnership a natural fit for Uber Elevate.

“Uber Elevate’s eVTOL ride sharing program is another groundbreaking milestone in aviation history. The eVTOL aircraft create a new ecosystem for ridesharing, focusing on safety, minimizing noise, and energy efficiency,” said Bob W. Whetsell, director of safety programs with GE Aviation’s Digital Group.

Used by hundreds of operators worldwide, Flight Data Monitoring is GE Aviation’s premier service for helping operators understand and improve safety. GE’s patented analytics software fuses meteorological information, navigation data, and terrain mapping to identify safety events and measurements on thousands of flights every day.

About GE Aviation

GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE (NYSE: GE), is a world-leading provider of jet and turboprop engines, components, avionics, electrical power systems, digital solutions and integrated systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft. Announced earlier this year, the digital software as a service business within GE Aviation plans to become a part of GE Digital in Q4 2020. For more information, visit http://www.ge.com/aviation. Follow GE Aviation on Twitter at http://twitter.com/GEAviation and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/GEAviation.