Outrageous Predictions
Drone taxis make Singapore skies the new causeways
Charu Chanana
Chief Investment Strategist
Chief Investment Strategist
Summary: Singapore transforms regional travel with electric air taxis that replace causeways and ferries, turning its skies into Southeast Asia’s next highway.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) joins forces with BYD to launch a fleet of electric air taxis connecting Singapore, Johor Bahru, Batam, and Bintan. These eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft—powered by BYD’s next-generation solid-state batteries—complete cross-border trips in under 20 minutes, turning morning commutes and weekend getaways into short hops above the sea.
SIA manages scheduling, ticketing, and loyalty perks through a new KrisFlyer SkyPass, bundling air-taxi transfers with regional flights and hotel stays. BYD builds and maintains the aircraft, expanding its electric-mobility empire from roads to skies. Vertiports at Changi, Seletar, and Marina South come with on-site immigration, security, and rapid-charging bays, allowing travellers to clear customs and recharge within minutes.
The service starts as a premium commuter route for business travellers and weekend tourists, but quickly scales to a mass-market network linking Singapore to neighbouring Malaysian and Indonesian cities as battery costs fall and regulations adapt. Singapore’s Urban Air Traffic Control System, built with local startups and the Civil Aviation Authority, guides autonomous flight corridors that replace crowded causeways and ferry lanes.
Singapore becomes the command centre for Southeast Asia’s air-mobility revolution, licensing routes, safety protocols, traffic rules, and charging standards. Vertiports rise across neighbouring cities, with integrated ticketing and immigration allowing seamless cross-border travel. Regional airlines, logistics firms, and tourism boards plug in, turning the skies into a digital highway for clean, autonomous transport.
What began as an experiment in convenience reshapes how the region moves. Families fly to Johor for dinner, tourists arrive directly from Changi to resort islands, and business travellers skip hours of road and sea traffic. With its disciplined regulation, dense infrastructure, and technology leadership, Singapore pioneers the world’s first cross-border air-taxi network, turning its skies into a new highway for the region.
Potential market impact: Singapore Airlines evolves into a multi-modal travel platform and BYD becomes the region’s electric-mobility leader. Singapore’s industrial REITs near vertiports benefit from new logistics demand, but retail and hospitality REITs face pressure as more shopping and leisure shift to Johor and Batam. Office REITs without vertiport access also risk falling behind as air mobility reshapes where people live, work, and spend.