Head of Uber Elevate Eric Allison to provide view of aviation's future at NBAA-BACE | Press Release

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Press Release

Issued by National Business Aviation Association.

October 10, 2019

Head of Uber Elevate Eric Allison to provide view of aviation's future at NBAA-BACE

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) announced today that Eric Allison, head of the Elevate initiative at rideshare pioneer Uber Technologies, Inc., will return as a featured Day Two Keynote speaker at the 2019 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE), taking place October 22-24 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Allison, who led a headline-driving keynote presentation at last year's NBAA-BACE, joined Uber Elevate in 2018 to spearhead Uber's efforts to bring its ridesharing business to the air through a network of all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Uber plans to launch this product, Uber Air, into commercial operation by 2023.

“Uber Elevate and its partners are at the forefront of developing new aircraft types and technologies to make urban on-demand transportation a reality,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “We welcome this opportunity to hear more about how Uber Elevate is transforming the aviation industry and creating new opportunities across exciting new market segments.”

Over the past year, Uber Elevate has continued to hone its operating model, working to develop practical UAM vehicles with several partner companies, including Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing company; Bell; EmbraerX; Karem Aircraft; Pipistrel Vertical Solutions; and Jaunt Air Mobility. The company unveiled several proposed Uber Air Skyport design concepts this summer and named Melbourne, Australia as a new UAM test city, joining previously announced locations in Los Angeles, California and Dallas, Texas.

Prior to joining Uber Elevate, Allison helped launch Zee.Aero, an effort to develop a two-place self-piloted eVTOL aircraft, and served as the company's CEO from 2015 to 2018. He received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Milwaukee School of Engineering and his master's and doctorate from Stanford University, studying under a Stanford Graduate Fellowship.

Allison is a recipient of the Ballhaus prize for best Ph.D. thesis, and the grand prize at the Stanford BASES E-Challenge competition. He currently serves on the NASA Advisory Council Aeronautics Committee.