10 years from now, the aviation industry will be completely changed thanks to ‘flying taxis’

Tram Ho

According to CNBC, the future of a world with flying vehicles may be closer than you think.

Companies across the US, including several startups, are developing electric flying taxis that aim to get rid of cars and put people in the sky.

Specifically, commercial airlines are investing in this type of technology to make trips to and from airports shorter and faster for consumers.

In October, Delta Air Lines joined the list of airlines pouring money into EV tech startups, with a $60 million investment in Joby Aviation, a company that develops take-off and landing aircraft electric vertical wing (eVTOL), intended to operate as an air taxi service.

In 2021, when Joby announced plans to launch an Uber-like air taxi by 2024, they sparked criticism from industry analysts about the possibility of a launch on that date. But Delta’s investment in Joby is a five-year partnership to operate eVTOL exclusively within Delta’s network.

10 năm nữa, ngành công nghiệp hàng không sẽ thay đổi hoàn toàn nhờ 'taxi bay' - Ảnh 1.

United Airlines is also partnering with a Sweden-based startup called Heart Aerospace, to have electric planes flying on regional routes by 2030, in addition to two of the company’s other eVTOL investments. Airlines. One is $15 million with Eve Air Mobility for 200 aircraft and another $10 million with Archer Aviation for 100 eVTOLs.

American Airlines has invested $25 million in Vertical Aerospace, a UK-based company, with an order for 50 aircraft.

“Flying taxi” could hit the market in the 2030s

While major airlines enter into agreements with global startups, it’s important to remember that agreements include conditions. It depends on the certification of these planes and the production speed of the companies, said Savanthi Syth.

Once these planes are certified and production begins ramping up, Syth says the potential market size largely depends on how easily companies can bring eVTOL to consumers.

Initially, eVTOL was supposed to replace your personal car,” Syth said. But it will be different for everyone, based on where eVTOL is .”

The companies envision eVTOL using existing infrastructure to operate, such as creating “vertistops” – where planes land on rooftops of buildings in urban areas to charge between short distances or “vertiport” – which uses regional airports to charge between longer distances, more than 100 miles.

If companies can place vertistops and vertiports close to consumers in residential areas, the size of the market could be large, Syth said.

We think you will see a small amount of eVTOLs starting in the 2025 timeframe, with certifications hopefully set in 2024 ,” Syth said. ” But to see a lot of planes flying in the sky, it’s probably more likely in the 2030s .”

Beau Roy, senior managing director of FTI Consulting, which specializes in the airline industry, said that while airlines face cost and availability challenges to become more sustainable, investment Investing in eVTOL is an effort by which airlines can try to offset their carbon footprint.

Airlines don’t have many sustainable options. The biggest choice is sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), but, last year, maybe one out of every 1,000 gallons of jet fuel was SAF, ” said Roy.

While eVTOL initially offered airlines an addition to their sustainability portfolio, they also provided them with the ability to take advantage of replacing long car trips with a passenger flight option. consumption.

“One interesting use of eVTOL is to think of getting people out of cars on the 100, 200 or 300 mile trips that we make ,” says Roy. “ Nearly 200 million trips a year by car with distances between 100 and 500 miles .”

Not only are airlines removing cars from the road for the sake of the environment, but also opening the door for consumers to pay for a faster and more efficient car alternative, Roy said.

Airlines are looking at: How do we make cost and ease of use more widely available? ‘” said Roy. ” If it’s cheap enough and time-saving enough, people will change their behavior and leave the car .”

Roy said flying out of regional airports from smaller towns is no longer seen as much across the country. Most traffic takes place at major airports, so airlines can take advantage of emerging technology like eVTOL and existing regional airports to grow.

Barriers

Delta and Joby are planning to have eVTOL hit major cities, like New York City and Los Angeles, in its initial launch.

Ranjan Goswami, Delta’s senior vice president of customer experience design, said the company was targeting NYC and LA because of increased congestion and traffic in these dense urban areas, as well as because of Delta’s prominence in these markets.

The big city is where you have the best use cases and the most people using the eVTOL service ,” says Goswami. Finally, it’s also where economies of scale help make it affordable, accessible to more people.

Goswami says getting to and from the airport is one of the most stressful parts of traveling, and eVTOL will lessen the brunt of that experience.

We won’t talk about prices right now, but we believe that needs to be an accessible price point,” said Goswami. Unlike helicopters, which are very expensive, the goal is to make eVTOLs accessible and affordable to the vast majority of people traveling .”

While Roy says he’s optimistic about seeing eVTOL in the next decade, these air taxis won’t launch as quickly as startups and airlines might hope.

In addition to manufacturing and then certifying these planes, Roy said using existing infrastructure to house the eVTOL was also an obstacle.

If eVTOL lands on rooftops, there will be a lot of construction and new infrastructure that will convert rooftops into parking spaces, says Roy. With battery-operated eVTOL, these buildings also have to generate significant power and electricity for the charging stations.

“These planes will work and the Federal Aviation Administration will do their job to make sure they work,” Roy said. “ It will take a while to get from where we are today to where we need to be .”

Source: CNBC

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