How electric air taxis could shake up the airline industry in the next decade

A world with flying vehicles like those in the 1960s sitcom The Jetsons may be closer than you think.

Companies across the US, including several startups, are developing electric air taxis that aim to take cars off the road and put people in the skies.

Commercial airlines, in particular, are investing in this type of technology to make airport trips shorter and faster for consumers.

In October, Delta Airlines joined the list of Airlines supporting EV technology startupsWith a $60 million investment in Joby Aviation, a company developing electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOLs) intended to serve as air taxi services.

in 2021, when Joby announced its plans to launch Its Uber-like air taxis by 2024, it drew criticism from industry analysts over its ability to launch by that date. But Delta’s investment in Joby is a five-year partnership to exclusively operate EVTOL in Delta’s network.

United Airlines is also partnering with Heart Aerospace, a Swedish-based startup, to Electric aircraft flying on regional routes by 2030, adding two more eVTOL investment from the airline. One is with Eve Air Mobility for $15 million for 200 aircraft, and the other with Archer Aviation for $10 million for 100 eVTOLs.

American Airlines Invested $25 million in UK-based company Vertical Aerospace with an order for 50 aircraft.

While major airlines enter into agreements with global startups, it is important to remember that these are conditional. It depends on the certification of these aircraft and how fast companies can manufacture them, said Savanti Sith, managing director at Equity Research, covering global airlines and mobility. raymond james,

Once these aircraft are certified and begin ramping into production, Sith said the size of the potential market depends largely on how far companies can achieve EVTOL where consumers are.

“At the outset, eVTOLs are going to replace your personal car,” Sith said. “But it’s going to be different for people where the EVTOLs are going to be.”

Companies envision eVTOL using existing infrastructure to operate, such as building “vertistops”, where aircraft land on top of buildings in urban areas to charge between short distances, or “vertiports”, which use regional airports to charge between long distances, roughly more than 100 miles.

Sith said the market size could be huge if companies could place Vertistops and Vertiports closer to consumers in residential areas.

“We think you’ll see a small amount [eVTOL] Starting operations is in the 2025 time frame, with certification expected in 2024,” Saith said.

while airlines face Cost and Availability Challenges In becoming more sustainable, investing in eVTOL is one effort airlines can make to try to offset carbon emissions, said Beau Roy, senior managing director at FTI Consulting, which specializes in the aviation industry.

“The airlines don’t have much [sustainable] alternative. The biggest option is sustainable aviation fuel, but, last year, maybe one out of every 1,000 gallons of jet fuel can be found as a SAF,” Roy said. “Airlines are getting aggressive about where they can invest. “

While eVTOLs initially offer airlines an addition to their ESG portfolio, they also provide them with the ability to capitalize on replacing long car drives with flight alternatives for consumers.

“an interesting use-case [of eVTOLs] Roy is “thinking about getting people out of the cars for 100-, 200-, or 300-mile trips.”

Roy said airlines are not only taking cars off the road to benefit the environment, but they are also opening the door for consumers to pay for a faster and more efficient alternative to cars.

“Airlines are looking at, ‘How can we get the cost and the ease of use down to something that’s more widely available to people?’ Roy said. “If it’s cheap enough and the time saved is significant enough, people will change their behavior and get out of cars.”

Roy said flying from smaller cities to regional airports is no longer seen extensively across the country. Most traffic occurs at major airports, so airlines can take advantage of emerging technologies such as EVTOL and existing regional airports to drive industry growth.