Counting the Cost of Urban Air Mobility Flights
Will eVTOL air taxi services really be able to deliver the promised on-demand flights affordable across income groups, or will this be another perk for high-net-worth individuals?
Much of the hype around anticipated urban air mobility services using eVTOL aircraft implies it will democratize local air transportation. This implies flight prices that will be far more affordable than today’s private helicopter and light aircraft charters, which at face value could seem hard to believe. So FutureFlight tried to assess the basis for these claims.
In its August 2021 Capital Markets Day Presentation, Lilium projected that in 2026 the estimated cost per passenger mile in its six-passenger eVTOL aircraft will be $2.25. This is based on an average of 4.5 out of 6 passenger seats being filled, with 25 flights per day traveling at an average distance of 60 miles for a total of 10 flight hours per day.
