McKinsey&Company
Ready for takeoff
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Faster rides. Investors flooded the market for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft with billions of dollars in 2021. Major airlines have preordered about 1,500 eVTOLs. Some aviation leaders see them as an optimal way to transport their customers to the airport. “You can spend hours on relatively short airport journeys by public transport or sit in a traffic jam,” said one airline CEO. “EVTOLs can do the trip in 30 minutes, and people will pay a premium for that.” [Bloomberg] |
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Regulatory hurdles. Air taxis will soon ferry people short distances across cities. But first, makers of these small, electric aircraft need to overcome regulatory hurdles. After reviewing more than 100 eVTOL designs and working with aircraft manufacturers, aviation officials are getting ready to finalize safety rules that will determine airworthiness of this new aircraft type. To that end, eVTOL makers in China, Germany, and the US are racing to obtain the certifications that will allow them to operate commercially—some as early as this year. [Economist] |
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The 18-minute flight. By 2030, advanced air mobility (AAM) firms could be giving the world’s largest airlines a run for their money. By then, an eVTOL carrier might operate hundreds more aircraft and offer nine times the number of daily flights an airline does today. Picture hopping into an air taxi with up to five other passengers and taking a much shorter flight—just 18 minutes, on average. AAM executives are working to make that dream a reality. Flying taxis will soon provide a safe, affordable, and greener way to travel, they say. |
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Pilots wanted. With AAM companies each operating about 20,000 flights a day by 2030, thousands of pilots will be needed to fly large fleets of electric aircraft. McKinsey estimates that eVTOL operators will need to attract and train roughly 60,000 pilots by 2028. Furthermore, large numbers of electric aircraft flying frequent, short distances may create operational challenges. To hear from McKinsey experts and industry leaders on what it will take for flying taxis to become a viable mode of transportation, explore our collection page.
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| — Edited by Belinda Yu |
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