We've spent ten years researching "flying taxis" without once stopping to ask if anyone could actually afford to fly in one.
March 18, 2026
Original Paper
Advanced Air Mobility at Large Hub Airports: A Critical Investigation of Analytical Fragmentation, Metropolitan Readiness, and Policy Constraints
SSRN · 6431111
The Takeaway
A systematic review of 45 major studies on integrating 'Advanced Air Mobility' into hub airports found that while 80% of research focuses on flight engineering, 0% made economic viability a primary focus. This reveals that cities and airports are preparing for a massive technological shift without any peer-reviewed evidence that the business model is sustainable or equitable.
From the abstract
Whether Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) will constitute a significant, successful, and sustainable travel innovation at the metropolitan scale remains an open policy question—one the current research literature is not yet equipped to answer. This study conducts a systematic critical investigation of AAM integration research at Large U.S. Hub airports, applying the Economic Viability, Operational Efficiency, Natural Resource Conservation, and Social Responsibility (EONS) framework as a metropolitan e