At McKinsey’s third Regional Air Mobility Summit held in San Francisco last week, Robin Riedel, partner and co-leader of the consulting firm’s Center for Future Mobility, outlined progress in the development of pure electric and hybrid-electric aircraft and how they might fit into the air travel ecosystem. Each year, McKinsey has invited a few dozen air mobility executives to discuss trends and share information (under Chatham House Rules that promote open dialogue).
While many conferences and public discussions in the advanced air mobility arena have focused heavily on eVTOL aircraft, Riedel believes that signs point to a shift in expectations for this nascent industry, from an over-focus on vertical to conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) aircraft that will be technologically less complex and ideal for regional air mobility (RAM). This will include cargo and passenger flights from 100 to 500 miles with five to 50 people and not only CTOL but also eVTOL and STOL aircraft serving smaller airports that aren’t as capacity-constrained as the larger facilities that handle 43% of worldwide passenger traffic. Orders for RAM aircraft and powertrains have reached about 13,600 vehicles valued at nearly $85 billion, according to McKinsey's latest data.
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