Flying Taxis Need Air Rights To Take Off

Innovation Constrained By Yesterdays Thinking Yields Poor Returns

Air rights owners control low-altitude airspace, “the foundation of moral and political legitimacy is the protection of private property."

The Drive To Fly

Southwest Airlines ($17B) the original pioneers of low-cost airline carriers, has joined forces with electric air taxi startup Archer Aviation to develop a fleet of aircraft designed to serve the California market. The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), outlining plans for Southwest to utilise Archer's "Midnight" electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft at 14 airports across the state.

Founded in 2018, Archer has been working towards obtaining Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification for its eVTOL vehicle, which can carry four passengers and a pilot. The company aims to offer a safe, low-noise, cost-competitive transportation option with no direct emissions. This partnership follows an announcement earlier this month in which automaker Stellantis agreed to invest an additional $55 million in Archer.

Hydrogen Powered 523-Mile Trip

Joby Aviation has flown an eVTOL hydrogen-electric air taxi 523 miles in California. The machine used was a converted pre-production, prototype battery-electric flying vehicle with a liquid hydrogen fuel tank and fuel cell system. It carried 88 pounds of liquid hydrogen and a reduced amount of batteries, which provided additional power for takeoff and landing. 

The system, with hydrogen fed into a fuel cell system, was designed by H2FLY, a subsidiary of Joby. The company plans to operate in New York City and Los Angeles along with its partner Delta Air Lines.

Joby previously acquired Uber Elevation, the air taxi division of Uber in 2021. The aim is that people will take an air taxi ride like they order an Uber. Integration with Uber is a significant part of the US-based business model, this is anticipated to be ready in 2025.

The Elevate team has been working since 2020 to re-design this system and has announced the release of the FAA-approved ElevateOS full software stack. This package controls the entire air taxi operation, from taking customer bookings and arranging Uber car taxis to ensuring the flight is registered and controlling scheduled or unplanned maintenance of the aircraft.

ElevateOS is integrated with Uber and Delta customers can book an entire journey, from downtown to the airport. The app will give the option to travel to a vertiport (eVTOL helipad) and take an air taxi to the airport or a car taxi for the entire journey.

Joby continues to seek locations that will work for their infrastructure in its two US launch locations Los Angeles and New York. One concern us that many of these locations are not convenient for people, they are convenient for existing aircraft infrastructure.

Joby acquired the autonomy division of Xwing, which has been developing automated flying technology since 2016 with Xwing flying autonomous aircraft since 2020 using software it developed in-house. The Xwing IP Joby acquired includes perception technology, system integration and certification. The integration is to provide the technology for piloted operations and fully autonomous operations in the future.

A major advantage of the deal is the relationship with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), the U.S. military has been active in exploring electric aerial technology. The company has been working with the U.S. Air Force and delivered one of its eVTOL vehicles to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida and one delivered to Edwards Air Force Base in California. They have a $163 million contract with the DOD AFWERX Agility Prime program and received early military funding.

What’s Missing?

One element missing from their integrations is an integration with the owners of the air rights who own the airspace they need to transit through. Assuming they can get the approvals to fly as an aircraft, and if they want to do more than replace existing helicopter routes and helicopters they need the air rights owner permissions integrated.

They require vertiports and infrastructure to be where people are and where people need to go. There is an unambitious determination to have the airport as the centre point of their worlds. This is not surprising given the fact many of these flying taxi companies are existing airline company conduits. Traditional businesses that have barely innovated in fifty years.

What is useful to the public are air taxis that can take us from one town to another quickly and cost-effectively without needing to go to an airport. For this, the air rights owners who in many cases own the land rights where infrastructure can be built are the unlock.

When we think of transportation in many cases, trains and subways are better than airports and aircraft. They take you from where you are to where you need to be, quickly. The main reason for this is the larger airports are located outside of the main city in the majority of cases. They are a central point for millions of homes rather than focusing on the distributed living patterns of multiple local commuities. Most people are not living close to these airports and the inability of aircraft to go door to door means inconvenience.

What if you could walk out of your home or apartment step into a flying taxi as conveniently as a train or subway and get to your neighbouring town? That is real innovation and it’s possible when the air rights owners are integrated into the new flying car ecosystem.

Thanks for reading and please share in your networks. You can contact me at jonathan@sky.trade