Airbus and the Revolution in the Sky

By

(Image Source: ItalDesign)

As Uber plans to build upon its transportation network by capturing (creating?) a market in the sky, longstanding air companies such as Airbus have had to reassess their role in the “air taxi revolution”. According to an article in Aviation Today, “Airbus predicts that, by 2030, the urban air mobility market will be worth an accumulated $50 billion, less than half of which will go to vehicle makers”. Thus, it makes sense for Airbus to expand beyond vehicle production and engage in other aspects of the value chain such as “support and services, flight operations, ground infrastructure and passenger solutions”. Rather than producing the technology for Uber and Lyft to build their networks, Airbus is exploring creating their own network using the expertise, and money, that they already have.

Airbus has already released a video describing the type of service they want to provide. Named Pop.Up, this system consists of a pod that can be attached to separate rigs that can allow either air or land travel. Eduardo Dominguez-Puerta, the head of urban air mobility at Airbus, notes that the company wants to test inter-modularity, though they also understand the design limitations.


Whereas transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft will need to invest much time and money in building the knowledge to make flying vehicles happen, it is curious to see how fast a company that already has a history of making flying vehicles can develop as a transportation network company. As Dominquez-Puerta’s comments at the AIAA SciTech Forum in San Diego show, there is a willingness for these companies to innovate: “Let’s stop dreaming and let’s start making”.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular on the Blog

Final Policy Guidelines

By
Students, I was exceedingly pleased with the quality of your final presentations and wanted to share them publicly.  Here they are: Ridehail (TNCs) - Presentation , Guidelines Micromobility - Bikeshare and Scooter Share - Presentation , Guidelines Freight and Goods Movement - Presentation , Guidelines   Courier Network Services - Presentation , Guidelines Real Estate and Curb Management - Presentation , Guidelines Future Shared Vehicles - Presentation , Guidelines Mobility as a Service - Presentation , Guidelines
Read more

Take to the Streets! The (AV) Revolution is Coming

By
Image
When I think about new mobility and new technologies that enable it, I get most excited about the possibilities to remediate or reverse the inequities and injustices caused by our current autocentric transportation and land use regime. Our transportation system currently and historically on the biggest tools enabling systemic  injustice and exploitation in the United States and globally. Those who control our transportation system have turned it into the largest contributor to the climate emergency, perpetuator of environmental injustices, and catalyst for exploitation and expropriation of oppressed communities Consider the freeway riots, suburbanization and white flight, hyper-gentrification, and pollution burden. Transportation planning is implicated in all of these processes. It will also be instrumental in dismantling them. If we collectively organized ourselves, we could already have livable cities, mobility justice, and (significantly) decarbonized transportation system...
Read more

In TNC wage war, econ 101 is on the driver’s side

By
Image
Hold on tight, passengers, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride We frequently read and hear that ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft are money-losers and are unlikely to be profitable in the near future. However, given that both companies are trading on public markets with a combined worth of more than $80 billion, investors must be thinking they will reach profitability at some point. The question is whether this profit will come from higher prices charged to passengers, or lower wages given to drivers. In a recent New York Times Upshot piece, Austan Goolsbee, a well-known economist and former adviser to President Barack Obama, makes the case that, in this scenario, passengers will be footing the bill. Goolsbee substantiates his claim in a way that those of his of economics-trained ilk know how to best--via the theory of "relative price sensitivity." Economic theory predicts that those who are more sensitive to prices changes will pay less, while those who are less pr...
Read more