ADVANCING TECHNOLOGY Aviation’s Greatest Evolution By Lindsey McFarren W e are witnessing one of aviation’s greatest evolutionary periods. Aside from the Wright Brothers and maybe the beginning of the jet age, this is it. While much of the recent buzz is about the revolutionary Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft, and Urban Air Mobility (UAM), some of the technolo- gies and concepts behind eVTOL and UAM have broader implications for the aviation industry and, in fact, are less revolutionary and more evolutionary—a gradual development of aviation, versus a revolution—a sudden or radical change or a paradigm change. There is no doubt, certain aspects of the technology are cutting edge. But, in many ways, these are the next logical steps for aviation. Some in the traditional seg- ments of aviation wonder how these new technologies and ways of thinking fit in their worlds and others are just disbelieving of the ultimate goals of autonomous flight, fully electric aircraft, and UAM. There also exists a fear, in many traditional sectors, of competition from new technologies. But the models proposed for UAS, VTOL, and UAM don’t replace traditional air transpor- tation—they actually enhance it by replacing ground transportation needs. Consider these areas: Operational Structure The UAM model’s success may depend on per-seat charter sales. Per-seat, on-demand charter services are a sticky wicket with the Department of Transportation. An operator has to avoid instituting a “schedule” to operate on-demand, meaning the operator cannot establish the departure location, arrival location, and date/time of 8 departure. That restriction makes it tricky to sell single- seat tickets under an on-demand authority. That said, every few years, a company comes up with a new and improved business model to sell charter on a per-seat basis. In the early 2000s, DayJet operated a per- seat, on-demand service in Eclipse 500s. DayJet avoided a schedule by using technology to allow passengers to self-aggregate. Self-aggregation is essentially how Uber’s “pool” system works. A passenger requests a ride from A to B, and, if that passenger chooses the “pool” option, Uber’s system looks for another pool passenger requesting a similar trip, then pairs those passengers together to save money. Many people were hopeful the DOT’s recent rulemak- ing regarding air transportation brokers would provide some insight into per-seat, on-demand—especially self-aggregation. Instead, the preamble to the final rule simply said self-aggregation is too subjective to be included in the rulemaking. The DOT will consider self- aggregation models on a case-by-case basis. Per-seat, on-demand is really a natural progression of the industry. Some operators, like Hyannis Air Service, Inc. (dba Cape Air), have been conducting commuter operations under Part 135 for years. In recent years, more operators have applied for commuter authority and begun scheduled routes, allowing per-seat sales. Uber Copter recently began operations through HeliFlight in New York, offering short-haul transporta- tion from city locations to major New York-area airports. BLADE Urban Air Mobility, Inc. actually beat Uber to the punch on this one with a similar service using crowd- sourcing to sell seats. Aviation Business Journal | Fall 2019
