Selection of appropriate eVTOLs as a tool to revive ultra-short haul routes in Europe

Author: Machacón Lobato, Guillem

Publisher: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya

Year: 2025

Source: https://upcommons.upc.edu/bitstream/2117/426583/2/memoria.pdf

BACHELOR THESIS
TITLE: Selec ion o app op ia e eVTOLs as a ool o e i e ul a-sho haul ou es in Eu ope
DEGREE: Bachelo 's Deg ee in Ae ospace Sys ems Enginee ing
AUTHOR: Guillem Machacón Loba o
DIRECTOR: Jo ana Kuljanin
SUBMISSION DATE: 20/01/2025
TITLE: Selec ion o app op ia e eVTOLs as a ool o e i e ul a-sho haul ou es in Eu ope
DEGREE: Bachelo 's Deg ee in Ae ospace Sys ems Enginee ing
AUTHOR: Guillem Machacón Loba o
DIRECTOR: Jo ana Kuljanin
SUBMISSION DATE: 20/01/2025
Abs ac
The ecen ban on ul a-sho haul ligh s and hei eplacemen by ail anspo ha e been
adop ed in se e al Eu opean Union coun ies o educe a ia ion's en i onmen al oo p in .
Howe e , he upcoming in oduc ion o elec ic Ve ical Take-O and Landing (eVTOL)
ehicles o e s a po en ial way o eclaim hese ou es, he alding a pa adigm shi in pe sonal
mobili y. Ai lines, hough, ace challenges in ai c a selec ion since eVTOLs di e signi ican ly
om he banned ai c a , p ima ily in e ms o size and payload capaci y.
The e o e, in o de o eco e he p e ious a ic demand , he main objec i e o his s udy is o
selec he mos con enien elec ically powe ed ai c a o 2 ou o he 5 cu en ly banned
ou es, using a decision-making ool h ough an Analy ical Hie a chical P ocess (AHP) which
allows mul i-c i e ia p oblems o be add essed.
Fo his pu pose, bo h he po en ial eVTOL candida es, which a e capable o ope a ing hese
ai ou es, and he c i e ia o be aken in o accoun in he ai c a selec ion p ocess will be
de ined. Finally, he easibili y o implemen ing eVTOL ai c a in he sho e m is discussed.
A mi abuelo Luis,
cuya memo ia ilumina cada paso de es e camino.
Siemp e en mi co azón y en cada log o.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This hesis is he culmina ion o an un o ge able s age ull o expe iences and lea ning. I would
like o deeply hank my u o Jo ana Kuljanin o he endless willingness o help and guide me
h oughou ou jou ney oge he . I will always emembe you ad ice in my p o essional ca ee .
I wan o exp ess my mos hea el g a i ude o my pa en s Guille mo and Yolanda bo h o
hei uncondi ional eﬀo and i eless wo k om he e y beginning o help me achie e my
goals. Fo being my s eng h a imes when I did no belie e and o gi ing me cou age when I
needed i mos .
We ha e made his jou ney oge he . My achie emen s a e also you s.
LIST OF CONTENTS
1 In oduc ion 1
2 Con ex ual se ings o a ia ion 3
2.1 Cu en si ua ion, challenges and objec i es 3
2.2 Regula o y amewo k 5
2.3 Compa ison be ween ail and ai anspo 7
3 Rou e Analysis 13
3.1 Cu en ly banned ou es ac oss Eu ope 14
3.2 Po en ially es ic ed ou es in he nea u u e 20
3.3 Ou o scope, po en ially es ic ed and banned ou es compa ison 23
4 The need o eplacemen o con en ional ai c a 26
4.1 In oduc ion o eVTOLs as a sus ainable solu ion 26
4.1.1 eVTOL de elopmen imeline 27
4.1.2 Technology and ope a ional cons ain s 28
4.1.3 Design a chi ec u e 30
4.2 eVTOLs selec ion 31
5 Decision making p ocess 38
5.1 In oduc ion o he AHP P ocess 38
5.1.1 O e iew o AHP me hodology 38
5.1.2 Rele ance o AHP o eVTOL Selec ion 38
5.1.3 AHP me hodological amewo k o he eVTOLs selec ion p ocess 39
5.2 C i e ia Deﬁni ion and Pai wise Compa ison 41
5.2.1 C i e ia o eVTOL selec ion 42
5.2.2 Pai wise compa ison ma ices 42
5.2.3 Jus iﬁca ions o pai wise compa isons 43
5.2.3.1 Scena io 1: Vienna-Salzbu g 43
5.2.3.2 Scena io 2: Pa ís-O ly-Bo deaux 44
5.3 AHP Calcula ions o Each Scena io 45
5.3.1 Scena io 1: Vienna–Salzbu g 46
5.3.2 Scena io 2: Pa is O ly-Bo deaux 47
6. Resul s and Analysis o he AHP P ocess 49
7. Applica ion o AHP Resul s o eVTOL Selec ion 50
7.1 No malized Quan i a i e Da a o eVTOL Candida es 50
7.2 Weigh ed Sco es o eVTOL Candida es 54
7.2.1 Ranked sco e lis o Scena io 1 wi h 9 and 11 al e na i es 55
7.2.2 Ranked sco e lis o Scena io 2 wi h 3 al e na i es 57
7.3 Compa ison o eVTOL Rankings Ac oss Scena ios 57
7.3.1 Compa ison o eVTOL Rankings Ac oss Scena io 1 57
7.3.2 Compa ison o eVTOL Rankings Ac oss Scena io 2 58
8. Viabili y o eVTOL implemen a ion 59
8.1. Summa y o AHP esul s 59
8.2. Accommoda ing P e ious T aﬃc Demand 59
8.3. Ce iﬁca ion challenges and in as uc u e equi emen s 60

8.4 Economic Feasibili y 61
9 Sus ainabili y and social commi men 62
10 Conclusions and u u e wo k 63
Bibliog aphy 64
LIST OF FIGURES
Figu e 2.1: Pe cen ual change o days wi h hea y ain in 2050 [3] 4
Figu e 2.2: Dis ibu ion o GHG emissions by anspo means in Eu ope, 2018 [5] 5
Figu e 2.3: Dis ibu ion o ai anspo emissions in Aus ia, acco ding o he ype o ﬂigh in
2018 [9] 7
Figu e 2.4: Dis ibu ion o CO2 emissions by ﬂigh adius in 2019 and 2050 [12] 8
Figu e 2.5: CO2 emissions om Eu opean, in a-Eu opean a ia ion and i s po en ial o
educ ion in 2020 [13] 9
Figu e 2.6: Compa ison o connec i i y be ween ai and high-speed ail ne wo ks. (a) HSR
ne wo k (sou ce: OpenRailwayMap). (b) Ai anspo ne wo k (sou ce: Sab e Ai line Solu ions)
[15] 10
Figu e 2.7: Speeds o ailway lines be ween u ban cen es in Eu ope in 2019 [15] 11
Figu e 2.8: Speed o ail connec ions be ween u ban cen e s in he Eu opean Union, including
egion, popula ion and ou e ype, 2019 [15] 12
Figu e 3.1: Numbe and p opo ion o ﬂigh s in F ance by ou e ype (2014-2023) [18]. 15
Figu e 3.2: Rep esen a ion o speeds on F ench ailway lines a Mon pa nasse and Lyon
s a ions [19] 15
Figu e 3.3: Connec i i y o Pa is o Bo deaux, Nan es, Rennes and Lyon ia TGV high-speed
lines [19] 16
Figu e 3.4: Fligh dis ances (km) on ai ou es eplaced by ain al e na i e 18
Figu e 3.5: Fligh imes (km) on cu en ly banned ou es subs i u ed by ain 18
Figu e 3.6: Dis ibu ion o ai c a ypes in he se o banned ai ou es 19
Figu e 3.7: Dis ibu ion o ai c a ypes in he se o banned ou es 20
Figu e 3.8: Dis ance be ween Mon pa nasse s a ion and Pa is-O ly and Pa is-Cha les de Gaulle
ai po s (acco ding o Google Maps). 21
Figu e 3.9: Numbe o ou es o less han 500 km o dis ance pe coun y 22
Figu e 3.10: Sha e o ai c a on ou es wi h dis ances o less han 500 km. 23
Figu e 3.11: Dis ibu ion o sea ing capaci y on po en ially cons ained ou es by 20-minu e
ﬂigh ime in e al 23
Figu e 3.12: Mon hly equency dis ibu ion by ai c a ype on ou es below 500 km 24
Figu e 3.13: Numbe o ou es by ai line and ou e s a us. 25
Figu e 3.14: Compa ison o sea ing capaci y by ou e s a us: Ou o each, Po en ially es ic ed
and banned. 25
Figu e 4.1 : Numbe o eVTOL ai c a announcemen s pe yea om 2014-2019 pe iod [28]. 28
Figu e 4.2: Elec ic-powe ed a ia ion ma ke ou look (conse a i e iew) [29] 29
Figu e 4.3 : Resul s o he Roland Be ge su ey o ae ospace and de ence p o essionals [30].
29
Figu e 4.4: Rela ionship be ween ba e y speciﬁc ene gy and ope a ing dis ance ange o
1-passenge eVTOLs, based on g oss ake-oﬀ mass (GTOM) alues and pa ame e s wi h poo ,
s anda d and ideal pe o mance alues [32]. 30
Figu e 4.5: P opulsion a chi ec u es o eVTOL ai c a [28] 31
Figu e 4.6: EHang 216 eVTOL ai c a [33] 31
Figu e 4.7: Ai c a eVTOL powe ed li (a) Wisk Gene a ion 5 (independen h us ) [34] (b)
Je op e a J-2000 ( ec o h us ) [35] 32
Figu e 4.8: Unnamed eVTOL de eloped by Kelekona [37] 33
Figu e 4.9: Illini Ai Shu le eVTOL om he Uni e si y o Illinois [38] 33
Figu e 4.10: Genesys X-2 om Skyne P ojec SRL [39] 34
Figu e 4.11: Ace VTOL T ini y H2 [40] 34
Figu e 4.12: Ro o X Ai c a eT anspo e ai c a [41] 35
Figu e 4.13: Joby A ia ion S4 eVTOL ai c a [42] 35
Figu e 4.14: Sas a Uni e si y’ Mis al ai c a [43] 36
Figu e 4.15: Au oFligh eVTOL P ospe i y ai c a [44]. 36
Figu e 4.16: (a) ET9 001 passenge eVTOL p o o ype be o e ee ﬂigh es . (b) ET9 001
passenge eVTOL p o o ype op iew, be o e e he ed ﬂigh es ing [45] 37
Figu e 4.17: Ba ini ai c a om Ba ini Ae o [46]. 37
Figu e 4.18: eJe Ae ospace's GJe Kóan [47]. 38
Figu e 5.1: AHP P ocess hie a chy le els and s uc u e deﬁni ion 40
Figu e 5.2: AHP P ocess hie a chy on Vienna-Salzbu g ou e wi h Supe Decisions ool 41
Figu e 5.3: Weigh s assigned o he c i e ia o Scena io 1 o he AHP p ocess using he
eigen alue me hod. 48
Figu e 5.4: Weigh s assigned o he c i e ia o scena io 2 o he AHP p ocess using he
eigen alue me hod 49
Figu e 7.1: (a) Ideal sco e lis o Scena io 1 wi h 11 al e na i es (b) Ideal sco e lis o Scena io
1 wi h 9 al e na i es by means o Supe Decisions ool. 57
Figu e 7.2: Ranked sco e lis o Scena io 2 wi h 3 al e na i es by means o Supe Decisions
ool. 58
LIST OF TABLES
Table 3.1: Example o da abase s uc u e o di ec ai ou es acco ding o: o igin, des ina ion,
dis ance, du a ion, ai line and ai c a ype. 13
Table 3.2: Da abase s uc u e on di ec ai ou es acco ding o: ai c a ype, sea capaci y,
mon hly equency, domes ic/in e na ional and ou e s a us. 13
Table 3.3: Road connec ions om Pa is wi h speeds abo e 150 km/h [15] 17
Table 3.4: Pai s o banned ou es wi h ai c a ope a ing hem 19
Table 3.5: Pai s o banned ou es acco ding o i s ype 20
Table 3.6: Mon hly equencies on banned ou e pai s 21
Table 3.7: Railway line speed be ween Lyon-Ma seille [15]. 22
Table 3.8: Numbe o domes ic and c oss-bo de ou es acco ding o ou e s a us 26
Table 4.1: Lis o selec ed eVTOLs wi h i s main pa ame e s o s udy 38
Table 5.1: Saa y's undamen al scale o AHP p ocess [48] 42
Table 5.2: Pai wise compa ison ma ix be ween c i e ia o scena io 1: Vienna - Salzbu g 44
Table 5.3: Pai wise compa ison ma ix be ween c i e ia o Scena io 2: Pa is-O ly- Bo deaux 44
Table 5.4: Compa ison and jus iﬁca ion o a ings o he pai wise compa ison ma ices in bo h
s udy scena ios 46
Table 5.5: Random consis ency index (RI) o ma ices o o de n [48] 48
Table 6.1: Compa ison o weigh s o each c i e ion in scena ios 1 and 2. 50
Table 7.1: No malised and scaled alues o he ange c i e ion o each al e na i e (case o 11
al e na i es) 53
Table 7.2: No malised and scaled alues o Scena io 1 o he ﬁ e c i e ia ac oss 11
al e na i es. 54
Table 7.3: No malised and scaled alues o Scena io 1 o he ﬁ e c i e ia ac oss 9
al e na i es. 55
Table 7.4: No malised and scaled alues o Scena io 2 o he ﬁ e c i e ia ac oss 3
al e na i es. 55
Table 7.5 Ranked sco e lis o Scena io 1 wi h 9 and 11 al e na i es. 57
Table 7.6: Ranked sco e lis o Scena io 2 wi h 3 al e na i es. 58
Table 9.1: Sus ainabili y ma ix 63
Con ex ual se ings o a ia ion 7
Figu e 2.3: Dis ibu ion o ai anspo emissions in Aus ia, acco ding o he ype o ﬂigh in 2018 [9]
Ha ing desc ibed he egula o y amewo k and conside ing ha ai anspo is going o be
aﬀec ed by ail ansi ion, i makes sense o discuss and compa e bo h modes o anspo .
A numbe o ques ions a ise: A e he aﬀec ed ou es suﬃcien ly pollu ing o gene a e a
no iceable change in he educ ion o gas emissions in Eu ope and b ing i close o he
en i onmen al a ge s? How p epa ed and adap ed is he high-speed ail ne wo k o hese
coun ies o accommoda e he passenge aﬃc on hese es ic ed ou es?
2.3 Compa ison be ween ail and ai anspo
In acco dance wi h he egula ions p esen ed abo e, i is wo h analysing he p oposed
implemen a ion and subs i u ion o ai ou es by ail in a numbe o cases. The analysis, based
on he sus ainabili y objec i es se by he Eu opean Union's G een Deal, includes he
dis ibu ion o emissions acco ding o ou e adius and he emission educ ion po en ial on
hese ou es. Fu he mo e, he cu en s a e o he high-speed ail ne wo k in Eu ope will be
p esen ed in compa ison wi h ai anspo as well as how many ou es could be eligible wi hin
he law o ﬂigh subs i u ion, acco ding o a iables such as a e age and maximum line speed.
Fi s ly, i is necessa y o deﬁne wha kind o ou es would be aﬀec ed by he F ench measu e in
a ou o ail anspo . Wi h he objec i e o deﬁning he ange o ou es o be s udied, he
a e age speed (in maximum alues) o ail lines in Eu ope mus be speciﬁed. Knowing ha
di ec ain connec ions canno exceed 2h 30m, he adius o ou es exposed o his egula ion
is de e mined.
A special epo issued by he Eu opean Cou o Audi o s ‘Eu opean high-speed ail ne wo k:
no a eali y, bu a agmen ed and ineﬃcien sys em’ s a es ha ains un on a e age a 40%
o he line's design speed. This da a sugges s ha he highes a e age speeds on di ec ain
connec ions a y om 200 km/h o 250 km/h [10].
Based on his, i he ail connec ion ime canno exceed 150 minu es and he a e age speed o
he lines is be ween a minimum o 60 and 240 km/h, he ype o di ec ai ou es po en ially
inﬂuenced by egula ion a e hose be ween 0-500 km.
Eu ocon ol deﬁned sho - adius ou es as less han 1500 km [11]. Unde his classiﬁca ion, we
ca ego ise ou es unde 500 km adius as ul a-sho ou es.

8 Selec ion o app op ia e eVTOLs as a ool o e i e ul a-sho haul ou es in Eu ope
The ollowing diag am (Figu e 2.4) poin s ou he dis ibu ion o ﬂigh s in 2019 and 2050
acco ding o adius and he di ec ly ela ed CO2 emissions unde adius classiﬁca ion. The
mos e ealing pa o Eu ocon ol's epo add esses he ange o ﬂigh s ha will be aﬀec ed
by he modal shi , as ﬂigh s wi h a adius o less han 500 km accoun ed o 30% o he
Eu opean o al while p oducing only 6.1% o CO2 emissions in 2019. As we can see, ﬂigh s
o e 3000 km dis ance sha e is 8% in 2019 and will accoun o 11% by 2050. Ins ead, hey
make up mo e han 50% o CO2 emissions in Eu opean e i o y, and he e o e, he ocus
should be on deca bonising hese long-haul ﬂigh s in o de o ha e a signiﬁcan educ ion in
emissions [12].
Figu e 2.4: Dis ibu ion o CO2 emissions by ﬂigh adius in 2019 and 2050 [12]
As shown in Figu e 2.5 below, in e ms o o al emissions as o 2020 om Eu opean a ia ion
a e quan iﬁed a mo e han 180 M CO2[13]. Al hough his is no ele an o he s udy, since
emissions om bo h in a-Eu opean and ex a-Eu opean ﬂigh s (including in e na ional ﬂigh s
wi h o igin o des ina ion in Eu ope) a e co e ed. Such da a includes all coun ies o he
Eu opean Union (EU-27), he Uni ed Kingdom, No way, Iceland and Swi ze land.
Among he ca ego y o in a-Eu opean ﬂigh s, ﬂigh s o e 1000 km emi 40 M o CO2. Since
adap ing hese ﬂigh s o he ail al e na i e is no ealis ic a his s age, no po en ial o educing
hese emissions wi h he implemen a ion o modal shi exis s. Fo ou es sho e han 1000 km
(excluding o igin o des ina ion islands), emissions a e 26 M CO2 and hese a e he po en ial
bes -case scena io emissions ha could be educed wi h he ail solu ion [13].
Summa ising, and unde he assump ions o : high-speed ail connec ions be ween majo EU
ci ies, modal shi o ail on all ﬂigh s below 300 km whe e a ail connec ion exis s, a 10%
inc ease in speed be ween ail connec ions and he implemen a ion o nigh ains, he
po en ial o emission educ ion om ai anspo o ail on in a-Eu opean ﬂigh s below 1000
km (excluding islands) is negligible[13].
Con ex ual se ings o a ia ion 9
As is clea om Figu e 2.5 below, imp o ing he connec i i y o he high-speed ail ne wo k
be ween majo ci ies and eplacing a la ge pa o in a-Eu opean sho -haul ou es wi h ail will
educe be ween 4 and 7 M CO2. Compa a i ely, his ep esen s be ween 6% and 11% o
in a-Eu opean a ia ion emissions ( aking in o accoun ou es wi h dis ances o e 1000 km)
and only 2% and 4% o Eu opean a ia ion emissions (EUR-27, UK, No way, Iceland and
Swi ze land)[13].
The e o e, we can conclude ha e en i i is manda o y o adop and eplace his ype o ou es
by ain, his es ic ion will ha e a ele an impac on he sho -haul ma ke , a he expense o
a negligible po en ial educ ion o emissions eleased in o he en i onmen .
Figu e 2.5: CO2 emissions om Eu opean, in a-Eu opean a ia ion and i s po en ial o educ ion in 2020
[13]
When deﬁning he po en ial modal shi om ai o ail, i is illus a i e o show and compa e he
medium-high speed ail ne wo k wi h he ai ne wo k. Fo his pu pose, he ex en o hese will
be ecognised by p o iding in o ma ion on which ou es a e likely o be subs i u ed and which
e i o ies will be mos ly aﬀec ed. I is wo h emembe ing ha hese ou es mus consis o
di ec ﬂigh s se ed by an exis ing di ec ail connec ion and, gene ally, he adius mus be less
han 500 km.
In de ail, Figu e 2.6 illus a es a compa ison be ween he high-speed ail ne wo k in Eu ope (on
he le ) and he ai anspo ne wo k (on he igh ). In Wes e n Eu ope, al hough he ne wo k
s uc u e emains widely dis ibu ed h oughou i s e i o y, he high-speed ne wo k is densely
concen a ed in Ge many, Spain, F ance, I aly as well as pa ially in Belgium, he Ne he lands
and Aus ia. As a as Eas e n Eu ope is conce ned, he e is a ely any high-speed line, a ac
ha allows us o an icipa e he diﬃcul ies in he ansi ion o a modal shi in hese coun ies.
On he o he hand, he ai anspo ne wo k is mo e a - eaching and enables connec ions
be ween diﬀe en coun ies, which is no he case wi h ains. Mo eo e , in addi ion o ai
ou es which c oss bo de s eﬀo lessly, he p esence o egional ou es which connec mo e
10 Selec ion o app op ia e eVTOLs as a ool o e i e ul a-sho haul ou es in Eu ope
inaccessible ci ies o hose wi h mo e limi ed land in as uc u e, such as island des ina ions,
make ai anspo a mo e c oss-cu ing means o anspo wi hou limi a ions. Based on hese
ac s, he s udy o he ou es aﬀec ed by he ban on ai ope a ions can be na owed down
mo e speciﬁcally. Due o he layou o he high-speed ail ne wo k and he ange o hese
ou es so as no o exceed he 150 minu es o di ec ain connec ion, mos o hese ou es will
ep esen ul a-sho -haul Eu opean domes ic ou es.
Figu e 2.6: Compa ison o connec i i y be ween ai and high-speed ail ne wo ks. (a) HSR ne wo k
(sou ce: OpenRailwayMap). (b) Ai anspo ne wo k (sou ce: Sab e Ai line Solu ions) [14]
Based on he diﬀe ences be ween bo h o hese ne wo ks, we can ocus on ail anspo . As
shown in Figu e 2.6 (a) abo e, he high-speed ne wo k is weake han he low-medium-speed
ne wo k. Among he o al ail passenge kilome es a elled in he Eu opean Union, only 31%
a e high-speed ela ed. S ill, in coun ies such as F ance and Spain hey ep esen almos 60%
[15].
Figu e 2.7 displays he speeds o ail connec ions be ween ci ies in he Eu opean Union wi h a
minimum o 200,000 inhabi an s and spaced 500 km o less apa . Ou o he 1356 exis ing
connec ions, only 3% o he lines ha e an a e age speed highe han 150 km/h [15]. This is
also due o he ac ha in e i o ies whe e popula ion densi y is high (e.g. Ge many and
F ance), ailway ne wo k densi y is also high and dis ances be ween ci ies a e sho e , which
has an impac on line speed.
Eas e n Eu ope is clea ly unde de eloped, as i does no ha e any ail connec ion wi h an
a e age speed abo e he 150 km/h h eshold, as opposed o he 60% o connec ions
ope a ing below 60 km/h [15]. Fo his eason, domes ic ﬂigh s o less han 500 km be ween
he egions o Eas e n coun ies a e uled ou o be eplaced by ail.
Con ex ual se ings o a ia ion 11
Figu e 2.7: Speeds o ailway lines be ween u ban cen es in Eu ope in 2019 [15]
Taking in o accoun he speeds o di ec ail lines be ween ci y pai s a dis ances o less han
500 km, Figu e 2.8 ep esen s he pe cen age o ain ou es acco ding o a iables such as
egion, ype o ou e and ci y popula ion. I is no ewo hy o men ion ha lines wi h a e age
speed be ween 60 and 90 km/h ep esen almos 40% o he o al, as opposed o 3% o ou es
whose speed is highe han 150 km/h. The dimension o ci y pai s wi hou di ec ail connec ion
is minimal.
In e ms o egions, Eas e n Eu ope canno compe e wi h Sou h and No heas Eu ope. The
o me , in addi ion o ha ing 20% o ou es wi h no ail connec ion, 90% o hem a e se ed by
lines wi h an a e age speed o less han 90 km/h. Sou h is highly inﬂuenced by Spain and I aly
(AVE, also known as Al a Velocidad Española in Spain, T eni alia and NTV in I aly) and
No heas by F ance and Ge many. Highe pe cen ages o high-speed ou es a e a ailable in
Sou he n Eu ope as he popula ion densi y o i s coun ies is lowe han in he No h. On he
o he hand, wi h highe densi y in he ne wo k, he dis ances be ween ci ies a e sho e (as well
as he ou e) and consequen ly he speed o he connec ion is lowe .
So ing by ou e ype in Eu ope, mo e ci y pai s (ci ies wi h 200,000 inhabi an s wi hin a ange
o 500 km) a e no connec ed by ail on c oss-bo de ou es. In o he wo ds, on domes ic
ou es be ween pai s o ele an u ban des ina ions, he ne wo k is ully co e ed as opposed o
when c ossing he bo de in o ano he coun y. Line speed diﬀe s in he sense ha domes ic
connec ions ha e a lowe p opo ion o low-speed lines han c oss-bo de connec ions and a
la ge segmen o high-speed ou es co e ed by ail.
I is also wo h no ing ha he la ge he popula ion be ween he wo u ban cen e s, he g ea e
he p obabili y o ﬁnding a high-speed ail ne wo k. To conclude, as Figu e 2.8 indica es, he
mos compe i i e condi ions oﬀe ed by ail anspo compa ed o ai anspo in e ms o
speed and du a ion a e na ional ou es co e ed by ail, wi h a leas one ci y o he pai
12 Selec ion o app op ia e eVTOLs as a ool o e i e ul a-sho haul ou es in Eu ope
con aining 500,000 inhabi an s, loca ed p e e ably in he sou he n o no heas e n Eu opean
egion.
Figu e 2.8: Speed o ail connec ions be ween u ban cen e s in he Eu opean Union, including egion,
popula ion and ou e ype, 2019 [15]
This compa ison be ween ail and ai anspo makes i possible o es ablish he c i e ia on he
basis o which he ou es es ic ed by he sus ainabili y egula ions will be s udied and deﬁned.
I has been ound ha , conside ing he maximum du a ion h eshold o be oﬀe ed by he ail
al e na i e (2h 30m), he only ou es ha can be eplaced by he ain a e hose wi h a adius o
less han 500 km. These emi 6% o CO2 in o he a mosphe e and hei educ ion po en ial is
limi ed, which indica es ha his law does no p opose an eﬀec i e o easily applicable
solu ion.
Taking a look a he ne wo k o ail connec ions (see Figu e 2.6), hei s a us, ange and a e age
speeds o he ou es, main ﬂigh s which can be eplaced by ail ou es will be dis ibu ed in he
Sou h and No heas o Eu ope (F ance, Ge many, Spain, Belgium, he Ne he lands, Aus ia,
I aly) o e ul a-sho dis ances wi h na ional ou es and be ween u ban cen e s o conside able
popula ion.
E en i he ai anspo sec o 's in e es s a e conce ned ha en i onmen al egula ions mus
be complied in acco dance wi h he Eu opean a ge o ze o emissions by 2050, in o de no o
lose his ul a-sho haul ange ma ke , he need o al e na i es o con en ional p opulsion o
cu en ai c a will be pu sued. Such an al e na i e, which may oﬀe deca boniza ion, may well
be elec ic.

Rou e Analysis 13
3 Rou e Analysis
Bo h he objec i es o he Eu opean G een Deal and he egula o y amewo k upon which he
ban on ﬂigh s wi h a di ec ail connec ion wi hin 150 minu es applies, ha e been deﬁned. I is
known ha , o hese ﬂigh s, ail connec ions mus ha e sa is ac o y ime ables and a high
equency in o de o be eplaced. In addi ion, h ough he dis ibu ion o CO2 emissions by
adius, i is ecognised ha he impac o his measu e will be low. Such a oo p in appea s o
be limi ed because he la ge p opo ion o emissions co esponding o Eu opean a ia ion a e
di ec ly ela ed o long-haul ﬂigh s.
Once he dis ibu ion o he Eu opean ail ne wo k has been ep esen ed, an analysis o he ai
ou es will be ca ied ou . These will be di ec ou es (no conside ing connec ing ﬂigh s), wi hin
Eu opean ai space and will be di ided mainly in o 3 ca ego ies. As men ioned abo e, he
ou es likely o be aﬀec ed by en i onmen al egula ions a e hose wi h a adius o 500 km o
less. The e o e, ou es whose ﬂigh dis ance is g ea e han he 500 km h eshold a e e e ed
o as ‘ou o scope’ ou es. A e wa ds, ou es which cu en ly emain ope a ional bu all wi hin
his ange a e conside ed as ‘po en ially aﬀec ed’ ou es. Finally, ou es eplaced by ail a e
classiﬁed in he ‘cu en ly banned’ ca ego y.
Mo eo e , ﬂigh s will be diﬀe en ia ed on he basis o ou e pa ame e s such as: dis ance, ﬂigh
du a ion, ai lines and ai c a se ing he ou e, sea ing capaci y o he ai c a , and mon hly
equency by ou e. Also, ou es will be so ed in e ms o ai c a classes and hei
o igin-des ina ion (i.e. domes ic o in e na ional). The da abase s uc u e c ea ed o he ou e
analysis is o ganised as ollows by accessing diﬀe en sou ces, which will be men ioned la e :
O igin
Des ina ion
Dis ance
(km)
Du a ion
Ai lines
Ai c a
LISBON
(LIS)
BRUSSELS
(BRU)
1717,97
2h 41m
● B ussels
Ai lines;
● TAP
Po ugal
A319;
A320-100;
A320-200;
A320neo;
A321neo
Table 3.1: Example o da abase s uc u e o di ec ai ou es acco ding o: o igin, des ina ion, dis ance,
du a ion, ai line and ai c a ype.
Table 3.2: Da abase s uc u e on di ec ai ou es acco ding o: ai c a ype, sea capaci y, mon hly
equency, domes ic/in e na ional and ou e s a us.
Ai c a Type
Sea
capaci y
Mon hly
equency
Domes ic o
In e na ional
Ou o scope,
Po en ially
Res ic ed, Banned
Na owbody;
Na owbody;Na owbody;
Na owbody;Na owbody
142;180;180;
180;227
130
In e na ional
Ou o scope
14 Selec ion o app op ia e eVTOLs as a ool o e i e ul a-sho haul ou es in Eu ope
In o de o analyse in a-Eu opean di ec ou es, a o al o 2532 ai ou es ha e been ob ained
om Fligh Connec ions [16]. Rou es we e manually ob ained as pe Oc obe 2024 and
displayed in a sel -made da abase. Among all he di ec in a-Eu opean ai ou es, comme cial
ﬂigh s depa ing o a i ing om an ai po loca ed on an island ha e been excluded. The
eason why hese ou es ha e been excluded is because i would no be possible o subs i u e
he ou e by ain. As p e iously men ioned, connec ing ﬂigh s ha e been excluded since hey
a e no aﬀec ed by he modal shi egula ion. A he same ime, ou es whose o igin o
des ina ion (o e en bo h) emana es om islands ha e also been disca ded, as he possibili y
o implemen ing a ail link is no a ailable.
Unde hese conside a ions, islands- ela ed ou es conce ning Spain, F ance, I aly, Mal a,
G eece and I eland (island e i o y and no pa o he Schengen a ea) ha e been disca ded.
Fo Sweden, Finland and G eece, which belong o he EU, and No way (which is pa o he
Schengen a ea), only ou es connec ed o u ban cen es and ai po s wi h he highes
passenge aﬃc (A hens, S ockholm, Go henbu g, Oslo, Helsinki) ha e been aken in o
accoun .
Excep ionally, comme cial ﬂigh s linked o he e i o y o Swi ze land ha e been accoun ed o ,
e en hough i is a membe o he Schengen a ea and no o he EU, gi en i s geog aphical
loca ion. The coun y is loca ed in he cen e o Eu ope and may in he nea u u e be able o
oﬀe ail connec ions o neighbou ing coun ies such as Ge many o Aus ia.
Al oge he , he 2532 di ec ou es analysed in ol e a o al o 25 coun ies. Nex , ou es ou side
he scope o he in es iga ion will be deﬁned, as well as he ones ha can po en ially be
es ic ed in he sho -medium e m and hose ha a e cu en ly banned. In his way, by
iden i ying which ou es a e emo ed om Eu opean ai space, i will be possible o es ima e he
size o he aﬀec ed ma ke , including: loss o passenge aﬃc, mos aﬀec ed coun ies, ai lines
and ai c a .
3.1 Cu en ly banned ou es ac oss Eu ope
F ance cu en ly has he mos deﬁni e basis on his en i onmen al issue ac oss he Eu opean
Union h ough he implemen a ion o he clima e and esilience law. Fo his eason, he impac
on he e i o y's ai se ices exis s in 3 connec ions.
Based on he cu en in as uc u e oﬀe on na ional ailway ne wo ks and he condi ions o he
dec ee, he ac ual es ic ed connec ions whe e a swi ch be ween ai and ail has been
a anged a e he ollowing [17]:
● Pa is-O ly (ORY) - Bo deaux (BOD)
● Pa is-O ly (ORY) - Nan es (NTE)
● Pa is-O ly (ORY) - Lyon (LYS)
The es ic ion in F ance in ol es only 0.002% o he o al numbe o ﬂigh s in he coun y. A
ep esen a ion depic ing he dis ibu ion o numbe o ﬂigh s in F ance by ou e ype (domes ic
aﬀec ed, domes ic unaﬀec ed and in e na ional) is shown as a g aph (Figu e 3.1) in IATA's
ecen publica ion, F ench domes ic ﬂigh bans and ca bon emissions educ ions.
Rou e Analysis 15
Figu e 3.1: Numbe and p opo ion o ﬂigh s in F ance by ou e ype (2014-2023) [18].
These connec ions a e se ed by he F ench high-speed TGV ain se ice. Passenge s on
hese ﬂigh s a el o Mon pa nasse s a ions o ips o Bo deaux and Nan es, whils o Lyon,
ou es o igina e a he co esponding s a ion. Each ou e is domes ic and, as Pa is-O ly ai po
is close o he ci y cen e, ans e o Mon pa nasse and Lyon s a ions is sho . The e o e, a el
ime is less han 150 minu es including ans e o bo h s a ions and ip ime.
On he ollowing ep esen a ion in Figu e 3.2, ailway lines om Mon pa nasse and Lyon
s a ions a e shown, pe mi ing a di ec connec ion in eplacemen o ORY-BOD, ORY-NTE and
ORY-LYS ﬂigh s. The ack connec ing he cen e o Pa is o Lyon, al hough no being a
high-speed line om he ou se , speeds o e 200 km/h a e eached la e in he jou ney (see
Figu e 3.2 and Table 3.3), making i possible o co e he dis ance unde he ime limi .
Figu e 3.2: Rep esen a ion o speeds on F ench ailway lines a Mon pa nasse and Lyon s a ions [19]
Connec i i y be ween ou es om Pa is-O ly o he ci ies o Nan es, Rennes, Lyon and
Toulouse, among o he s, is isualised below. Mos ou es wi h a high-speed ail connec ion a e
loca ed in he cen al and no he n pa o F ance, whe e a high densi y a ound Pa is plays a
16 Selec ion o app op ia e eVTOLs as a ool o e i e ul a-sho haul ou es in Eu ope
key ole in he in e connec ion be ween he ci ies. Such a ne wo k has made i possible o
implemen he clima e s a egy and educe eliance on sho -haul domes ic ﬂigh s.
Figu e 3.3: Connec i i y o Pa is o Bo deaux, Nan es, Rennes and Lyon ia TGV high-speed lines [19]
Wi h he epo How as a e ail ips be ween EU ci ies and is ail as e han ai ? and based on
da a p o ided by he EU's u ban and egional policy depa men , he e a e 12 di ec ail
connec ions om Pa is wi h speeds abo e 150 km/h [15]. Among hese a e he h ee ﬂigh s
banned by he egula ion gi en in ed in Table 3.3.
Ci y A (la ge )
Ci y B (smalle )
S aigh -line speed (km/h)
Pa is
Bo deaux
239
Pa is
S asbou g
225
Pa is
Tou s
206
Pa is
Lyon
203
Pa is
Rennes
203
Pa is
Lille
190
Pa is
B ussels
190
Pa is
Nancy
186
Pa is
Ka ls uhe
176
Pa is
Reims
169
Pa is
Nan es
167
Pa is
G enoble
160
Table 3.3: Road connec ions om Pa is wi h speeds abo e 150 km/h [15]
Rou e Analysis 23
Figu e 3.11: Dis ibu ion o sea ing capaci y on po en ially cons ained ou es by 20-minu e ﬂigh ime
in e al
A he same ime, he small p opo ion o widebody ai c a oﬀe s he highes mon hly
equencies on speciﬁc ou es whe e hey ope a e join ly wi h na owbodies. These include
Ba celona-Mad id wi h 424 ﬂigh s pe mon h and F ank u -Munich wi h 286 ips pe mon h.
(Figu e 3.12)
Figu e 3.12: Mon hly equency dis ibu ion by ai c a ype on ou es below 500 km
3.3 Ou o scope, po en ially es ic ed and banned ou es compa ison
The compa a i e analysis be ween ac ual subs i u ed ou es and po en ially es ic ed ﬂigh s
unde 500 km is complemen ed by he so-called “ou -o -scope” ou es. This ca ego y, which

24 Selec ion o app op ia e eVTOLs as a ool o e i e ul a-sho haul ou es in Eu ope
add esses ﬂigh s wi h dis ances g ea e han 500 km, in ol es hose ﬂigh s ha will a ely be
unde he exposu e o any ype o es ic ion in he sho e m.
Using he in o ma ion ex ac ed om Fligh Connec ions on ﬂigh dis ances and ca ie s, Figu e
3.13 p o ides a compa ison o he numbe o ou es ope a ed pe ai line acco ding o he
s a us o he ou e. On he lis o 76 ai lines, hose wi h a o al o less han 20 ou es ha e been
disca ded.
Among 25 coun ies and 2532 in a-Eu opean ou es, he ai line wi h he la ges ma ke sha e is
Ryanai (939 ou es) ollowed by Wizz Ai (290, in o al). As expec ed, he spec um o ou es
ou side he scope o o hcoming egula ions occupies almos 90% o he o al ou es
analyzed, e sus he 9.8% o po en ially es ic ed ou es ( adius less han 500 km) and ba ely
0.2% o subs i u ed ﬂigh s. Rega ding po en ially egula ed ou es, he ac ha some ai lines
ha e a signiﬁcan p opo ion o ﬂigh s in ela ion o he o al indica es ha hei ope a ions a e
exposed o a egula ion which would educe he oﬀe o in a-Eu opean ou es.
This is he case o Ai Dolomi i, wi h 40% (14 ou o 35) o ou es a po en ial isk, 37% o
Ibe ia (28 ou o 76), 34% o ITA Ai Ways (13 ou o 38) and 31% o Lu hansa (48 ou o 156),
which co e s a la ge pa o he domes ic ou es in i s densely popula ed e i o y. The
diﬃcul ies in dis inguishing he banned ou es a e due o he low 0.2% which is made up o
ips p e iously ope a ed by Ai F ance, Aus ian Ai lines and KLM.
Figu e 3.13: Numbe o ou es by ai line and ou e s a us.
Then, Figu e 3.14 compa es he sea ing capaci y acco ding o he a o emen ioned ou e
classiﬁca ion. Fi s , he median sea capaci y on po en ially cons ained ou es is close o 150
sea s, sugges ing an a e age capaci y associa ed wi h na owbody ai c a . Unlike he ou o
scope ou es, a iabili y in his ou e ca ego y ( anges less han 500 km) is no able, as well as
he appea ance o ou lie s on ou es wi h up o 350 sea s oﬀe ed. Sea capaci y alues on
“ou -o -scope” ou es ange om 160-190 and deno e less a iabili y and g ea e consis ency.
Banned ou es sea capaci y dis ibu ion shows a simila shape o he ﬁ s g oup, which is due
o he ac ha he dis ances o he 5 es ic ed ﬂigh s a e also sho e han 500 km.
Rou e Analysis 25
Figu e 3.14: Compa ison o sea ing capaci y by ou e s a us: Ou o each, Po en ially es ic ed and
banned.
A dis inc ion is made in Table 3.8 be ween domes ic and c oss-bo de in he EU, ansla ing
in o he ollowing conclusion: Fo ﬂigh s wi h a adius o less han 500 km, he p opo ion o
domes ic ou es is g ea e han c oss-bo de ones.
Domes ic
C oss-Bo de
To al
Banned
4
1
5
Ou o Scope
181
2048
2229
Po en ially Res ic ed
160
138
298
Table 3.8: Numbe o domes ic and c oss-bo de ou es acco ding o ou e s a us
26 Selec ion o app op ia e eVTOLs as a ool o e i e ul a-sho haul ou es in Eu ope
4 The need o eplacemen o con en ional ai c a
Wi h he goal o deca bonising he a ia ion indus y wi hou losing ma ke sha e on
ul a-sho - adius subs i u ed ou es, he solu ion o eplacing adi ional p opulsion wi h
elec ic p opulsion is eme ging. As men ioned in he Eu opean Union's G een Deal, by 2050,
ehicles a e expec ed o un on sus ainable ene gy sou ces such as elec ici y and hyd ogen
[1].
The la e ype o p opulsion, as will be discussed below, will p e ail on sho ou es in he
nea -medium e m, as will sus ainable a ia ion uels (SAF) o long-haul ﬂigh s, a he expense
o he use o ossil uels. Wi hin he scope o he implemen a ion o elec ic ai c a in he ci il
a ia ion indus y, ai po conﬁgu a ion and ene gy in as uc u e will need o be adap ed o
ensu e bo h hei ene gy secu i y and suppo he ope a ions o all ypes o ai c a and
p opulsion sys ems.
In his sec ion, elec ic e ical ake-oﬀ and landing ai c a (eVTOLs) and hei espec i e
echnology will be deﬁned, as hese will be he means o assessmen o aﬃc eco e y on he
eplaced ou e pai s (ORY-BOD, ORY-NTE, ORY-LYS, AMS-BRU and VIE-SZG). Also, he
analysis will ake in o accoun he easibili y o sho - e m implemen a ion acco ding o he
imeline o echnological de elopmen o elec ic ehicles. Thus, i will be possible o o ecas
he ime ho izon ega ding he en y o hese elec ically p opelled ehicles.
Wi h all his in o ma ion, acco ding o he p edic ion on he en y o ecas in he indus y and
he unde s anding o hei unc ioning, key ope a ional pa ame e s o hese ai c a ha may
allow o limi hei use o jou neys sho e han 500 km will be de e mined.
Finally, ha ing deﬁned he ope a ional pa ame e s ha a e likely o condi ion hei in oduc ion
o he ma ke , a se ies o elec ic e ical ake-oﬀ and landing ai c a will be selec ed o
ope a e hose pai s o ou es ha a e cu en ly pe o med by ail se ices.
4.1 In oduc ion o eVTOLs as a sus ainable solu ion
An elec ic e ical ake-oﬀ and landing ai c a , also known as eVTOL, ‘implies an ai c a
capable o ca ying up o 5 people ha may o may no include a pilo i ope a ed ully
au onomously, assuming an a e age o 91 kg (200 lbs) pe pe son o equi alen payload and a
ange o up o 60 miles plus adequa e ese e’ [27].
The e o e, he main diﬀe ence be ween a con en ional ake-oﬀ and landing ai c a (CTOL) and
an eVTOL is ha he la e allows e ical ake-oﬀ and landing by means o elec ic p opulsion.
In his sense, by no equi ing con en ional means (e.g., long unways, hanga s), eVTOL ai c a
a e easie o apply in u ban ai mobili y and allow ope a ions in smalle spaces han
con en ional ai c a .
De eloping and applying his ene gy sou ce in a ia ion aims o deca bonise ai anspo and
p omo e u ban ai mobili y (UAM). In his sense, a ma ke analysis will be ca ied ou on he
cu en s a e o eVTOL ai c a , knowing he concep ual and de eloping models and
con as ing a se ies o cha ac e is ics o assess he implemen a ion o eVTOL ehicles on
cu en ly es ic ed ou es.
Despi e hei ecen in oduc ion in o p oduc ion, by he second qua e o 2022, mo e han 500
eVTOL ai c a concep s ha e been p esen ed wi h a iew owa ds ﬂying and occupying a
The need o eplacemen o con en ional ai c a 27
ele an posi ion in he indus y in he sho -medium e m. As we will see below, al hough
egula o y and echnological cons ain s o ma ke inclusion exis oday, he cumula i e
dis ibu ion o eVTOL ai c a in he pe iod o 2014-2019 has been exponen ial (see Figu e 4.1).
This ac , oge he wi h he ma ke p ospec s o elec ically powe ed a ia ion (see Sec ion
4.1.1), demons a es how he ai anspo indus y's in en ion o deca bonise i s ope a ions
and egain aﬃc on ul a-sho -haul ou es is o ansi ion om con en ional o elec ic
p opulsion.
Figu e 4.1 : Numbe o eVTOL ai c a announcemen s pe yea om 2014-2019 pe iod [28].
4.1.1 eVTOL de elopmen imeline
While he idea o ai anspo consis ing mainly o elec ic ai c a may be un ealis ic, in
p ac ice, he ansi ion o his ene gy sou ce is no a om eaching i s ull ealiza ion.
Mo eo e , he ma ke ou look o elec ic a ia ion, wi h a iew owa d achie ing ze o emissions
by 2050, is p omising and shows ha he solu ion o eVTOL ai c a on ul a-sho ou es is no
heo e ical bu applicable in he nea u u e.
Acco ding o IATA's Ai c a Technology Roadmap o 2050 (Figu e 4.2), in an op imis ic
scena io, he en y in o se ice o hyb id ai c a wi h 10 o 15 sea s would be a ound 2030,
eaching capaci ies o 50 o 100 passenge s on egional ﬂigh s om 2030 o 2035 [29]. On he
o he hand, he en y o ba e y-powe ed ai c a could ope a e comme cial ﬂigh s wi h a
sea ing capaci y o mo e han 100 passenge s and a ange o 300 km om 2035 onwa ds.
While a p esen ai axis wi h capaci ies o less han 5 passenge s a e he only ones a ailable,
p og ess in adop ion will be condi ioned by ad ances in ba e y echnology (see sec ion 4.1.2).
28 Selec ion o app op ia e eVTOLs as a ool o e i e ul a-sho haul ou es in Eu ope
Figu e 4.2: Elec ic-powe ed a ia ion ma ke ou look (op imis ic iew) [29]
On he o he hand, acco ding o he esul s o a 2018 su ey among 40 indus y p o essionals
unde an op imis ic scena io (Figu e 4.3), he en y in o se ice o all-elec ic ai c a would be
possible by 2025. [30]
Figu e 4.3 : Resul s o he Roland Be ge su ey o ae ospace and de ence p o essionals [30].
As a esul , a numbe o exis ing eVTOL ai c a will u he be selec ed in o de o analyse he
easibili y o hei ope a ion in he segmen o ou es banned unde he emission educ ion
egula ion.
4.1.2 Technology and ope a ional cons ain s
eVTOL ai c a a e elec ically p opelled hanks o ene gy s o age echnologies, such as
ba e ies. On he p opulsion side, elec ic p opulsion is powe ed by elec ic mo o s. These
ba e ies a e made up o cells which, oge he , consis o a ca hode, an anode and an
elec oly e [31]. Unlike con en ional p opulsion sys ems ha s o e ene gy in he uel, elec ic
p opulsion sys ems s o e ene gy in he ba e y o d i e he elec ic mo o .

The need o eplacemen o con en ional ai c a 29
The mos widely used ba e y o elec ic ai c a and eVTOLs oday is he li hium-ion ba e y
because i oﬀe s he highes speciﬁc ene gy densi y alues o da e. Cu en ly, li hium-ion
ba e ies in use ha e a speciﬁc ene gy densi y o 250-300 Wh/kg. These alues a e ac ional
compa ed o he densi ies o uels used in con en ional ai c a up o 12000 Wh/kg [31]. Fo
his eason, he speciﬁc ene gy densi y o ba e ies is one o he mos cons aining ac o s o
he deploymen o medium and long- ange ope a ions, since he dis ances ha ai c a can
ope a e will be condi ioned by ha ing as much ene gy and as li le mass as possible o ﬂy
(Wh/kg).
Such is he case in ac , ha he ela ionship be ween ba e y speciﬁc ene gy densi y and
ope a ing dis ance ange is p esen ed in he epo Pe o mance Me ics Requi ed o Nex
Gene a ion Ba e ies o Elec i y Ve ical Takeoﬀ and Landing (VTOL) Ai c a (Figu e 4.4) [32]. I
shows ha he ope a ing dis ance ange inc eases linea ly wi h inc easing speciﬁc ene gy o
he ba e ies. Also, o he same speciﬁc ene gy densi y alues, he ange inc eases wi h g oss
akeoﬀ mass as long as he ba e y can suppo he weigh inc ease.
Figu e 4.4: Rela ionship be ween ba e y speciﬁc ene gy and ope a ing dis ance ange o 1-passenge
eVTOLs, based on g oss ake-oﬀ mass (GTOM) alues and pa ame e s wi h poo , s anda d and ideal
pe o mance alues [32].
In his sense, wi h hese alues, p opulsion is limi ed o small ai c a capable o ope a ing
dis ance anges o less han 300 km. The e o e, hese ypes o ba e ies cu en ly allow u ban
ai mobili y wi h limi ed passenge capaci ies. On he o he hand, he echnical s udy on
elec ic a ia ion in 2022 sugges s ha minimum speciﬁc ene gy densi ies o 500 Wh/kg will be
equi ed o ope a e egional and sho - ange ﬂigh s [31].
Following his, he elec ic mo o is esponsible o he con e sion o elec ical ene gy in o
mechanical ene gy. The majo beneﬁ o hese in compa ison o he combus ion engine is hei
high eﬃciency. Whe eas combus ion engines ha e eﬃciency alues o less han 50%, elec ic
mo o s a e close o 95%[31].
In conclusion, one o he mos es aining a iables ha will be encoun e ed in he iabili y o
implemen ing eVTOL ai c a on he banned se ies o ou es will be he speciﬁc ene gy densi y
o he ba e ies, as well as hei weigh . These ac o s, as men ioned abo e, condi ion bo h he
ope a ing ange o he ai c a (in e ms o dis ance) and he sea ing capaci y. Sea ing capaci y
30 Selec ion o app op ia e eVTOLs as a ool o e i e ul a-sho haul ou es in Eu ope
can be cons ained by he weigh o he ba e y, because i aﬀec s i s maximum g oss ake-oﬀ
mass and consequen ly he ype o ai c a ha can be ope a ed. Finally, he li e cycle o he
ba e y will also ha e o be aken in o accoun .
4.1.3 Design a chi ec u e
eVTOL ai c a can be classiﬁed in o wo ca ego ies: wingless eVTOL ai c a and eVTOL
powe ed li ai c a (wi h wings and ac i e li ). This ca ego isa ion is ep esen ed in Figu e 4.5
by di iding he ai c a ypes acco ding o p opulsion a chi ec u es.
Figu e 4.5: P opulsion a chi ec u es o eVTOL ai c a [28]
Fi s ly, wingless ai c a a e mos ly mul icop e s. In hese, o o s a e used exclusi ely o li and
p opulsion. Ro o s p o ide he e ical li , and a he same ime allow ho izon al displacemen
when he ehicle is il ed. Thus, mul icop e s do no ha e speciﬁc componen s o ho izon al
p opulsion. An example o a mul icop e eVTOL ai c a is he EHang 216 (see Figu e 4.6).
Figu e 4.6: EHang 216 eVTOL ai c a [33]
On he o he hand, eVTOL ai c a wi h wings, known as powe ed li , a e also a ailable.
Winged ai c a can achie e highe c uise speeds han mul icop e s and consequen ly, allow
highe payloads and longe dis ance ou es o be ope a ed. Independen h us ai c a ha e
dedica ed o o s o e ical li and a sepa a e p opulsion sys em speciﬁcally o ho izon al
displacemen in he c uise phase. An example o his ype is he Wisk Gene a ion 5 as
illus a ed in Figu e 4.7a.
The need o eplacemen o con en ional ai c a 31
Th us ec o ed ai c a use a p opulsion sys em ha allows e ical li and ho izon al
displacemen . The Je op e a J-2000 is an example o his ca ego y (see Figu e 4.7b).
Figu e 4.7: Ai c a eVTOL powe ed li (a) Wisk Gene a ion 5 (independen h us ) [34] (b) Je op e a J-2000
( ec o h us ) [35]
Las ly, he e is he combined h us ca ego y which, as shown in he p opulsion a chi ec u e
ca ego isa ion (Figu e 4.5), combines h us ec o ing o some p opulsion uni s, while o he s
ocus hei pe o mance solely on e ical li .
4.2 eVTOLs selec ion
Following he deﬁni ion o he cu en g ow h in eVTOL ai c a , hei echnology and he
possible a chi ec u e designs, a numbe o diﬀe en ai c a will be p esen ed below, all mee ing
a common equi emen : ba e ies as a powe sou ce. While ai c a unde de elopmen wi h
hyd ogen as a powe sou ce could also ha e been conside ed due o hei ne ze o emissions,
he aim o he s udy is o analyse he easibili y o implemen a ion o hese ai c a , anking
hem acco ding o diﬀe en scena ios ha will be p esen ed la e .
Ha ing said ha , all he da a has been ex ac ed om Elec ic VTOL News [36] and he mos
ele an pa ame e s o be aken in o accoun o he selec ed ai c a will be showcased.
Subsequen ly, based on hese pa ame e s, he mos a ou able candida es o a gi en banned
ou e will be chosen. Nex , we will p oceed wi h a b ie desc ip ion o he 11 selec ed ai c a .
Fi s ly, his eVTOL ai c a has no speciﬁc name and belongs o Kelekona’s company (see
Figu e 4.8). The Unnamed eVTOL is a passenge , ca go and can e en be used o medical and
mili a y se ices. Fo passenge se ice, i will be pilo -ope a ed, in con as o he ca go
se ice, which will be emo ely pilo ed. I has a sea ing capaci y o 40 passenge s (excluding
he pilo ) and a maximum payload o 4536 kg. Bo h he c uise speed and ﬂigh ime a e
unknown due o he ac ha he design is a an ea ly s age. A he same ime, i has a ange
ha would allow i o ope a e ou es o up o 483 km. As men ioned abo e, i s powe sou ce is
ba e ies[37].
32 Selec ion o app op ia e eVTOLs as a ool o e i e ul a-sho haul ou es in Eu ope
Figu e 4.8: Unnamed eVTOL de eloped by Kelekona [37]
Illini Ai Shu le
Second eVTOL is he so-called Illini Ai Shu le de eloped by s uden s a he Uni e si y o
Illinois (see Figu e 4.9). Ma u i y o he design o his ai c a is a an ea ly s age, as is he case
wi h he a o emen ioned ai c a . I is conside ed o be a eVTOL passenge ai c a in which he
means o pilo ing (‘pilo o au opilo mode’) has no been deﬁned. I s sea ing capaci y is 10
passenge s and i s c uising speed is 290 km/h[38].
Flying ime is 1 hou and he es ima ed ange o he design is 321 km. Rega ding he ele an
weigh cha ac e is ics o he ai c a , he emp y weigh is 3632 kg, maximum payload is 1250
kg and i s maximum ake-oﬀ weigh (MTOW) is 4882 kg, being p opelled by 10 elec ic mo o s.
[38]
Figu e 4.9: Illini Ai Shu le eVTOL om he Uni e si y o Illinois [38]
Genesys X-2
The nex eVTOL ai c a acco ding o de elope Skyne P ojec SRL can be de eloped as a
passenge ai c a wi h an all-elec ic o hyb id-elec ic sou ce a cus ome ’s con enience. The
Genesys X-2 eVTOL ai c a (see Figu e 4.10) accommoda es a capaci y o 8 passenge s wi h
Decision making p ocess 39
aken in o accoun . Thus, selec ing he mos sui able eVTOL ai c a capable o ope a ing a
ou e acco ding o i s cha ac e is ics and needs can be a complex decision.
This being said, i is necessa y ha we ely on a s uc u ed sys em such as he AHP which
allows us o assess diﬀe en ai c a wi h speciﬁc quan i a i e pa ame e s in a consis en
amewo k. This p ocedu e will hen be used o no malise quan i a i e alues o diﬀe en scales
and, acco ding o he weigh s assigned in he se e al exis ing c i e ia, nume ical sco es will be
ob ained o each ai c a .
One o he beneﬁ s o using he AHP p ocess o complex decisions is ha he c i e ia can be
weigh ed in a way ha mee s he ope a ional and echnical needs o any gi en ou e. As an
example, depending on he dis ance o a ou e, a c i e ion such as ange will be weigh ed
highe (o e longe dis ances), whe eas i he ou e needs a e diﬀe en , pe haps pa ame e s
such as c uising speed will be p e e ed.
5.1.3 AHP me hodological amewo k o he eVTOLs selec ion p ocess
The analy ical hie a chical p ocess (AHP), as i s name desc ibes, is deﬁned by a s uc u ed
hie a chy pe mi ing he o ma ion o a ne wo k ia which connec ions a e made be ween he
nodes. As shown in Figu e 5.1 below, he hie a chy o he ne wo k is based on 3 clus e s ha
make up 3 le els: he objec i e, he c i e ia o be assessed and weigh ed wi h espec o how
decisi e hey a e wi h espec o he goal, and he al e na i es.
The e o e, he hie a chy o he analy ical hie a chical p ocess used in he case s udied is as
ollows:
● Goal: Selec he bes eVTOL o scena io X
● C i e ia: C i e ion 1 , C i e ion 2 , C i e ion 3 , C i e ion 4 , C i e ion 5
● Al e na i es: , , , , , …
𝐴1𝐴2𝐴3𝐴4𝐴5𝐴𝑛𝐴11
This means ha he a ge node is he pa en node o each o he c i e ion nodes ( hese being
he child nodes o he a ge node). Meanwhile, he c i e ion nodes a e he pa en nodes o he
al e na i es nodes (and hese will be he child nodes o he c i e ion nodes).
Figu e 5.1: AHP P ocess hie a chy le els and s uc u e deﬁni ion
Acco ding o he model p esen ed abo e, he objec i e clus e con ains he node ‘Selec he
bes eVTOL o scena io X’. Then, he c i e ia clus e con ains he 5 nodes o each c i e ion.
Las ly, he al e na i es clus e con ains 11 nodes co esponding o each candida e.

40 Selec ion o app op ia e eVTOLs as a ool o e i e ul a-sho haul ou es in Eu ope
The hie a chical model allows all nodes a diﬀe en le els o be ully connec ed o each o he .
Fo his eason, pai wise compa isons will be made be ween c i e ion nodes o de e mine he
ela i e impo ance o each o hem in ela ion o he objec i e o he p oblem. Following he
same p ocedu e, due o he connec ion o each c i e ion node wi h each al e na i e node,
speciﬁc da a ( ela ed o he c i e ion) om each candida e will be used o compa e each o he
and o assign a weigh o impo ance in ela ion o he c i e ion node.
Scena ios ha will be examined in his AHP model deal wi h ou es ha a e cons ained and
discussed ea lie in he p ojec . As men ioned on nume ous occasions, es ic ions apply o a
se o 5 ul a-sho haul in a-Eu opean ou es. In his sense, and o he sake o simplici y, his
p ocess will only be pe o med o 2 scena ios, i.e. o 2 ou es. These ou es o be analysed in
he model a e: Vienna-Salzbu g (VIE-SZG) and Pa is-O ly-Bo deaux (ORY-BOD).
These wo ou es we e selec ed o a speciﬁc eason. As o he analysis o he 3 banned
ou es om Pa is-O ly, he mos es ic i e ou e has been chosen because o i s leng h, his
ou e being he longes o he 5 es ic ed ou es. Simila ly, he analysis o he Ams e dam -
B ussels (AMS-BRU) has been disca ded due o he ac ha only he equency o ﬂigh s has
been educed om 5 o 4 pe day, being he impac o he loss o aﬃc on his ou e less
signiﬁcan han he en i e subs i u ion o he VIE-SZG ou e.
Scena io 1 o he s udy will be he Vienna-Salzbu g ou e and, as explained abo e, bo h he
ﬂigh dis ance and he p e ious ope a ions as well as he pas aﬃc is a ele an inpu o be
aken in o accoun in he AHP model. Fligh dis ance is 268 km and was p e iously ope a ed 2
o 3 imes pe day wi h a o al o 909 annual ﬂigh s. Secondly, he Pa is-O ly-Bo deaux
(ORY-BOD) ou e co e s a dis ance o 493 km and was p e iously ope a ed 6 o 7 imes a day
ep esen ing a highe demand.
The AHP p ocess a chi ec u e and hie a chy is shown in he ﬁgu e below. Assis ed by he
Supe Decisions so wa e, he analy ic hie a chical p ocess s uc u e o Scena io 1 is as ollows
(Figu e 5.2):
Figu e 5.2: AHP P ocess hie a chy on Vienna-Salzbu g ou e wi h Supe Decisions ool
Decision making p ocess 41
A e deﬁning he c i e ia upon which he al e na i es will be selec ed, pai wise compa ison
ma ices a e used o assign he weigh s o each c i e ion in ela ion o he pu pose o he s udy.
To c ea e hese ma ices, each c i e ion will be compa ed agains he o he c i e ia using he
Saa y scale. This scale, which comp ises alues om 1 o 9, assigns alues based on he
impo ance o one c i e ion o e he o he . Tha is, i c i e ion 1 is 9 imes mo e impo an han
c i e ion 2, his alue will be assigned in he co esponding ow and column o he ma ix.
In e sely, when C2 is compa ed o C1, he ecip ocal alue o he one men ioned abo e will be
assigned, being 1/9.
Those alues a e no a bi a y and hey a e anked in he ollowing able (Table 5.1) comp ising
he alues o in ensi y o impo ance om 1 o 9. The Saa y scale is use ul because i allows
con e ing quali a i e p e e ences in o nume ical alues. Fo example, i he pai o c i e ia
being compa ed con ibu e equally o he objec i e and a e o equal impo ance, he alue
assigned is 1. I he judgemen de e mines a sub le o mode a e p e e ence be ween wo
c i e ia, a 3 is assigned. Finally, i he e is a demons a ed and ex eme dominance in a ou o
one c i e ion, he alues 7 and 9 should be used; al e na i ely, in e media e alues a e used
when in e media e judgemen s a e made be ween hose deﬁned abo e.
Table 5.1: Saa y's undamen al scale o AHP p ocess [48]
Fo ma ix comple ion, he AHP p ocess assumes ha he compa isons a e ecip ocal in o de
o ob ain obus and consis en p e e ences. Thus, i C1 > C3 = 5, he in e se compa ison
implies ha C3 > C1 = ⅕ in o de o main ain a consis en ma ix..
To ge consis en esul s, i is c ucial o ensu e ha he a ings en e ed in he ma ix a e
consis en (e.g. i C2 > C3 > C4, hen C2 > C4). Via he Saa y scale, he consis ency o he
ma ix can be assessed h ough a ious use ul pa ame e s such as he Consis ency Index (CI)
and he Consis ency Ra io (CR). The desi ed consis ency a io should be less han 10%. [48]
Bo h indices will be calcula ed a e deﬁning he pai wise compa ison ma ices be ween c i e ia
o bo h scena ios.
5.2 C i e ia Deﬁni ion and Pai wise Compa ison
Hie a chies wi hin he analy ical hie a chical p ocess s uc u e ha e been p e iously deﬁned by
le els, which a e diﬀe en ia ed 3 imes. The aim o he analy ical hie a chical p ocess has been
deﬁned, and is o selec he mos sui able eVTOL o ope a e wi hin 2 diﬀe en scena ios. All 11
42 Selec ion o app op ia e eVTOLs as a ool o e i e ul a-sho haul ou es in Eu ope
al e na i es a e he candida es ha , acco ding o he esul s gi en in he o m o a anked sco e
lis , in end o ope a e he VIE-SZG and ORY-BOD ou es.
Hence, i emains ul ima ely o deﬁne he c i e ia ha will be aken in o accoun o each
al e na i e in ela ion o he a ge node. In addi ion o he deﬁni ion o hese c i e ia, a pai wise
compa ison ma ix will be c ea ed. This ma ix, consis ing o assigning weigh s using he Saa y
scale, will allow compa ing pai s o c i e ion based on hei ela i e impo ance o con ibu ion
o he main objec i e.
Values o each c i e ion in each al e na i e ha e been quan iﬁed in Table 4.1. In o he wo ds, in
addi ion o ob aining he weigh s o each c i e ion in ela ion o he main objec i e h ough he
c i e ia pai wise compa ison ma ix, quan i a i e da a will be used oge he o ob ain he anked
sco e o each eVTOL candida e.
5.2.1 C i e ia o eVTOL selec ion
The ﬁ s c i e ion o he analy ical hie a chical p ocess (AHP) o be aken in o accoun is he
sea ing capaci y. This c i e ion is ela ed o he numbe o passenge s he ai c a can
accommoda e on he ﬂigh and has a non-negligible impac on mee ing he demand o he
ou e. F om an ai line's poin o iew, an ai c a ha has he capaci y o ope a e he ou e wi h
a highe sea ing capaci y would sa is y he pas aﬃc demand wi h less equency esul ing in
a cos educ ion ha should be aken in o accoun .
The second c i e ion is he maximum ake-oﬀ weigh (MTOW) and ep esen s he combined
sum o he ope a ing emp y weigh (OEW), maximum payload (passenge s, ca go) and he ip
uel. In o he wo ds, i is he maximum weigh a which he ai c a can ake oﬀ including all he
weigh s men ioned abo e.
Thi d c i e ion is he maximum payload and e e s o he o al weigh ha he ai c a can ca y
including passenge s, passenge ca go and o he ca go. In his sense, a g ea e o lesse
maximum payload depends on he aﬃc and demand gene a ed on he speciﬁc ou e bu also
on he capaci y o he ai c a o accommoda e he load.
The ou h c i e ion is he ange. This means he maximum dis ance wi hou ba e y echa ging
s ops in ou elec ic-powe ed ai c a case s udy. Wi h his pa ame e i is possible o de e mine
whe he he ai c a can comple e he mission wi hou in e media e s ops o echa ging, a ac
ha would conside ably inc ease he ﬂigh ime.
Las ly, he ﬁnal c i e ion is he ai c a c uising speed. This cha ac e is ic is conside ed in he
s udy due o i s impo ance in compe i i eness and ope a ional eﬃciency, since an eVTOL
ai c a capable o eaching highe a e age c uise speeds allows ou es o be ope a ed in less
ime while oﬀe ing a g ea e equency and oﬀe o ﬂigh s.
To summa ise, wi hin he analy ical hie a chical p ocess we iden i y 11 candida es ha will be
a ed acco ding o he weigh o each c i e ion in ela ion o he main objec i e, and he
pe o mance o each candida e in each c i e ion by means o quan iﬁed and no malised da a.
The selec ion c i e ia a e 5 and a e as ollows: sea ing capaci y, maximum ake-oﬀ weigh ,
maximum payload, ange and c uise speed.
5.2.2 Pai wise compa ison ma ices
As men ioned abo e, depending on he con ex o each ou e, cha ac e is ics o he same and
a iables such as aﬃc p io o he ban, ela i e impo ance has been assigned among he
Decision making p ocess 43
c i e ia o each scena io. These ma ices should main ain a consis ency a io o less han 10%.
In his sense, Table 5.2 depic s he pai wise compa ison ma ix be ween c i e ia o he
es ic ed ou e be ween Vienna and Salzbu g.
C i e ia
C1: Sea
Capaci y
C2:
MTOW
C3: Maximum
Payload
C4:
Range
C5: C uising
Speed
C1: Sea Capaci y
1
3
5
1/3
1/2
C2: MTOW
1/3
1
3
1/5
1/3
C3: Maximum Payload
1/5
1/3
1
1/7
1/5
C4: Range
3
5
7
1
3
C5: C uising Speed
2
3
5
1/3
1
Table 5.2: Pai wise compa ison ma ix be ween c i e ia o scena io 1: Vienna - Salzbu g
Addi ionally, Table 5.3 shows he ma ix o he second case s udy, which co esponds o he
Pa is-O ly-Bo deaux ou e.
C i e ia
C1: Sea
Capaci y
C2: MTOW
C3: Maximum
Payload
C4:
Range
C5: C uising
Speed
C1: Sea
Capaci y
1
4
5
1/3
5
C2: MTOW
1/4
1
3
1/5
2
C3: Maximum
Payload
1/5
1/3
1
1/7
1/3
C4: Range
3
5
7
1
7
C5: C uising
Speed
1/5
1/2
3
1/7
1
Table 5.3: Pai wise compa ison ma ix be ween c i e ia o Scena io 2: Pa is-O ly- Bo deaux
5.2.3 Jus iﬁca ions o pai wise compa isons
The wo pai wise compa ison ma ices ha e been displayed wi h he assigned weigh s
de e mined using he Saa y scale. Gi en knowledge o he domes ic na u e o bo h he
Vienna-Salzbu g and he Pa is-O ly-Bo deaux ou es, he es ima ed aﬃc, pas equency and
ﬂigh dis ance in o ma ion has been used o conside he alues o he wo ma ices.
5.2.3.1 Scena io 1: Vienna-Salzbu g
As o Scena io 1, we ﬁ s compa e he ﬁ s c i e ion wi h all o he c i e ia. Sea ing capaci y is
mode a ely mo e impo an han maximum ake-oﬀ weigh because a demand has o be me
whe e his o ically 74 passenge s we e ﬂown on boa d. Al hough maximum ake-oﬀ weigh is o
s uc u al ele ance, om he ai lines' poin o iew, he c i e ion ha has an impac on
44 Selec ion o app op ia e eVTOLs as a ool o e i e ul a-sho haul ou es in Eu ope
ope a ions is gi en p e e ence. When compa ing C1 s. C3, sea capaci y is s ongly mo e
impo an han he maximum payload alue because a iables such as he passenge load on
such a sho ou e a e less ele an .
Compa ing sea ing capaci y wi h ange, he ou h c i e ion ( ange) is mode a ely mo e
impo an . The a ionale is simple, unless an ai c a has a ange o mo e han 268 km
(non-s op) i would no be possible o ope a e he ou e e en i he ai c a oﬀe s a la ge
numbe o passenge s. In his sense, he ange c i e ion is a c ucial elemen in o de o be able
o esume his ou e. Finally, he ﬁ s c i e ion is assigned a alue o ½ compa ed o he c uise
speed. The eason behind his is ha high c uising speeds, o his ul a-sho ou e scena io,
would compensa e o a low sea ing capaci y while inc easing he equency. Since aﬃc and
demand p io o he cancella ion o his ou e was lowe han scena io 2, i would be easible o
esume his ou e by inc easing equencies wi h a lowe sea capaci y since only 2 o 3 ﬂigh s
pe day we e ope a ed.
Maximum ake-oﬀ weigh is mode a ely mo e impo an when compa ed o he maximum
payload alue. Al hough payload mus be aken in o accoun , on his leas demanding ou e i
is in ended o ope a e he ﬂigh s wi h a lowe sea ing capaci y and, consequen ly, wi h a lowe
numbe o bags o ca go. I we compa e C2 (MTOW) s C4 ( ange), he la e is ex emely mo e
impo an since ange is essen ial o he ope a ional iabili y o he ou e. C2 s C5 implies ha
c uise speed is mode a ely p e e able, since MTOW is ele an in ai c a design as opposed o
c uise speed which plays a dominan ole in ou e iabili y.
Maximum payload is 7 imes lowe han he ange. Simila o p e ious a gumen s, i he ai c a
canno comple e he ou e, he maximum allowable payload alue is i ele an . I we compa e
C3 wi h he c uise speed, he la e is s ongly mo e impo an han he hi d c i e ion.
Ul ima ely, ange is mode a ely impo an wi h espec o c uising speed. Al hough he las
c i e ion enhances compe i i eness and helps in he implemen a ion o he ou e, ange is he
mos c i ical c i e ion.
5.2.3.2 Scena io 2: Pa ís-O ly-Bo deaux
In con as o he p e ious ou e, Scena io 2 is 493 km in dis ance and he passenge demand
is highe wi h an a e age o 120 passenge s pe ﬂigh and 6 o 7 daily ﬂigh s. These diﬀe ences
in cha ac e is ics a e aken in o accoun in he second pai wise compa ison ma ix o he
ORY-BOD ou e. Fo his case, a jus iﬁca o y compa ison able se ing ou he diﬀe ences in
weigh s assigned be ween c i e ia o Scena io 1 and Scena io 2 is shown below (Table 5.4).

Decision making p ocess 45
Compa ison
Scena io 1
Scena io 2
Jus iﬁca ions
C1 s C2
3
4
Sea ing capaci y is sligh ly mo e c i ical due
o highe demand
C1 s C3
5
5
Maximum payload alue emains seconda y
C1 s C4
1/3
1/3
In bo h scena ios ange emains mode a ely
dominan o e sea ing capaci y
C1 s C5
1/2
5
C uise speed loses impo ance due o he
passenge sea ing needs which a e c ucial
on long, high- aﬃc ou es
C2 s C3
3
3
MTOW p ese es ele ance o maximum
payload due o he highe weigh o he
ba e y packs o he ou e.
C2 s C4
1/5
1/5
Range is s ongly dominan o e MTOW
C2 s C5
1/3
2
MTOW is subs an ially mo e impo an
ela i e o c uise speed in he second
scena io, due o he mo e es ic i e emp y
ope a ional weigh s
C3 s C4
1/7
1/7
Range is e y s ongly dominan o e
maximum payload
C3 s C5
1/4
1/3
A easonable speed is mode a ely mo e
necessa y o mee demand wi h sus ainable
equency on a ou e o almos 500 km
C4 s C5
3
7
Range expands he p e e ence owa ds his
scena io due o he 468 km dis ance and
he es ic ions on ba e y li e.
Table 5.4: Compa ison and jus iﬁca ion o a ings o he pai wise compa ison ma ices in bo h s udy
scena ios
5.3 AHP Calcula ions o Each Scena io
In his sec ion, weigh s , , , , will be calcula ed. Then, hese weigh s will be
𝑊1𝑊2𝑊3𝑊4𝑊5
used in each scena io o, oge he wi h he no malised quan i a i e alues o each candida e,
gene a e he anked lis o sco es in o de o p io i y.
Fo his pu pose, he me hod used is he p incipal eigen alue me hod. Th ough he pai wise
compa ison ma ix, bo h he p incipal eigen alue and he p io i y ec o a e calcula ed. This
p io i y ec o p o ides he weigh s o each c i e ion in ela ion o he a ge node acco ding o
quan i a i e conside a ions using he Saa y scale. Based on his, he consis ency index (CI) and
he consis ency a io (CR) will be compu ed. Resul s ob ained will be compa ed and checked
46 Selec ion o app op ia e eVTOLs as a ool o e i e ul a-sho haul ou es in Eu ope
wi h he Supe Decisions ool. This is a ee downloadable so wa e ha is a ailable online and
allows o pe o m he analysis o his AHP p ocess.
5.3.1 Scena io 1: Vienna–Salzbu g
Fi s , he ollowing cha ac e is ic he equa ion mus be sol ed, whe e is he pai wise
𝐴
compa ison ma ix. A he same ime, is he p io i y ec o (eigen ec o ) and co esponds o
𝑤
eigen alues (eigen alues). To ob ain he eigen ec o , he la ges eigen alue is equi ed .
λ𝑚𝑎𝑥
(5.1)
𝐴·𝑤=λ𝑚𝑎𝑥·𝑤
being he p io pai wise compa ison ma ix o his scena io:
𝐴
The cha ac e is ic equa ion is sol ed, whe e I is he iden i y ma ix and is sub ac ed on he
λ
diagonal o :
𝐴 (5.2)
The cha ac e is ic polynomial calcula ed om he de e minan allows us o calcula e he
eigen alues o he ma ix.
−λ5+5λ4+2993λ2
630 +5168λ
4725 +1952
4725 =0
λ𝑚𝑎𝑥=5. 1851, λ2=0.0384,λ3=0. 0384, λ4= −0. 1309, λ5= −0. 1309
Since is he la ges eigen alue o he ma ix, he ollowing equa ion is sol ed o calcula e
λ𝑚𝑎𝑥
he co esponding eigen ec o :
(5.3)
Resul ing in he p incipal eigen ec o :
𝑤= 0.75748, 0.36556 , 0.18137, 1.99999,1 [ ]
In o de o con e he p incipal eigen ec o in o he ec o o p io i ies (weigh s), i is
no malised. So, we no malise he eigen ec o :
𝑤= 0.17598, 0.08493 , 0.04214, 0.46463,0. 23233 [ ]
Recalling he c i e ia o de , being C1: sea ing capaci y, C2: MTOW, C3: Max Payload, C4:
Range and C5: C uise Speed, p io i ies and weigh s o each c i e ion in ela ion o he objec i e
is:
Decision making p ocess 47
● Weigh o sea ing capaci y c i e ion:
𝑊1= 0. 17598
● Weigh o MTOW c i e ion:
𝑊2= 0. 08493
● Weigh o Maximum Payload c i e ion:
𝑊3= 0. 04214
● Weigh o Range c i e ion:
𝑊4=0. 46463
● Weigh o C uising speed c i e ion:
𝑊5=0. 23233
Wi h he help o he Supe Decisions ool, he weigh s assigned o he Vienna-Salzbu g ou e
ma ch wi h p ecision and a e shown in Figu e 5.3.
Figu e 5.3: Weigh s assigned o he c i e ia o Scena io 1 o he AHP p ocess using he eigen alue
me hod.
To alida e he consis ency o he ma ix, he consis ency index and a io a e checked. The
o me is calcula ed as ollows, aking in o accoun he la ges eigen alue and he numbe o
c i e ia o he p oblem (being ).
𝑛 (5.4)
𝐶𝐼=λ𝑚𝑎𝑥− 𝑛
𝑛−1 =5.1851− 5
5−1 =0.046275
As men ioned be o e, o a ma ix o be alid and o i s weigh s o be cohe en and consis en ,
we mus analyse he consis ency a io, which mus be less han 10%. To do so, a andom
index c ea ed by Saa y, o ma ices o o de , will be needed (see Table 5.4).
𝑛
Table 5.5: Random consis ency index (RI) o ma ices o o de [48]
𝑛
(5.5)
𝐶𝑅=𝐶𝐼
𝑅𝐼 =0,046275
1,11 = 0. 0417
𝐶𝑅 (%)= 4.17%<10%
The pai wise compa ison ma ix and he alues assigned acco ding o he Saa y scale a e
consis en and allow u he s udy and analysis o eVTOL ai c a selec ion o he
Vienna-Salzbu g ou e.
5.3.2 Scena io 2: Pa is O ly-Bo deaux
A pa allel app oach is hen ollowed o he second scena io. In his case, he ma ix is shown
in Table 5.3. Following he same p ocedu es, he eigen alues a e ob ained:
λ𝑚𝑎𝑥=5. 2664, λ2=0.0225,λ3=0. 0225, λ4= −0. 1557, λ5= −0. 1557
Wi h he la ges eigen alue and he pai wise compa ison ma ix, he p incipal
λ𝑚𝑎𝑥=5,2664
eigen ec o is :
𝑤= 3.76673, 0.60004 , 1.43764, 6.95874,1 [ ]
48 Selec ion o app op ia e eVTOLs as a ool o e i e ul a-sho haul ou es in Eu ope
To con e he main eigen ec o in o he ec o o p io i ies (weigh s), he ec o is no malised.
The e o e:
𝑤= 0.27368, 0.0436 , 0.10446, 0.50561,0. 07266 [ ]
Jus as ea lie , p io i ies and weigh s o each c i e ion in ela ion o he objec i e a e e iﬁed
wi h he Supe Decisions p og amme o ensu e ha he weigh s a e accu a e.
=
𝑊10.27368 , 𝑊2= 0.10446 , 𝑊3= 0.04360, 𝑊4=0.50561,𝑊5=0.07266
Figu e 5.4: Weigh s assigned o he c i e ia o scena io 2 o he AHP p ocess using he eigen alue me hod
Conce ning he Pa is-O ly-Bo deaux ou e, he pai wise compa ison ma ix is also consis en
as i is clea ly below he 10% h eshold. These a e he calcula ions:
(5.6)
𝐶𝐼=λ𝑚𝑎𝑥− 𝑛
𝑛−1 =5.2664− 5
5−1 =0,0666
(5.7)
𝐶𝑅=𝐶𝐼
𝑅𝐼 =0,0666
1,11 = 0. 05946
𝐶𝑅 (%)= 5.946%<10%
To sum up, he ela i e weigh s o he c i e ia in ela ion o he impo ance gi en o he a ge
node ha e been ob ained. Despi e sligh diﬀe ences be ween he ma ices due o he con ex
o each ou e, he mos undamen al aspec is ha bo h ma ices a e consis en .
Applica ion o AHP Resul s o eVTOL Selec ion 55
selec ion p ocess is igo ous and objec i e. Fo each candida e, he sco e is calcula ed as
ollows:
(7.3)
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑆𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒=∑(𝐴𝑑𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒·𝐶𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡)
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑆𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒=(𝐶1·𝑊1)+(𝐶2·𝑊2)+(𝐶3·𝑊3)+(𝐶4·𝑊4)+(𝐶5·𝑊5)
Whe e:
● C1, C2, C3, C4, C5 a e he no malised quan i a i e alues o each c i e ion.
● , , , and a e he weigh s o each c i e ion.
𝑊1𝑊2𝑊3𝑊4𝑊5
7.2.1 Ranked sco e lis o Scena io 1 wi h 9 and 11 al e na i es
The sco es o each eVTOL ai c a we e de e mined o he Vienna-Salzbu g and
Pa is-O ly-Bo deaux ou es ollowing he en i e analy ical hie a chical p ocess. Th ough a
pai wise compa ison o c i e ia, he weigh s ( , , , and ) could be deﬁned and,
𝑊1𝑊2𝑊3𝑊4𝑊5
in combina ion wi h he no malised quan i a i e da a o each c i e ion (C1, C2, C3, C4, C5) in
each al e na i e, he decision making p ocess has yielded he ollowing esul s. These a e
shown in Table 7.4 and displayed g aphically in Figu e 7.1 wi h he Supe Decisions ool.
The no mal weigh ed sco e is he one compu ed using 7.3 desc ibed abo e. The ideal
weigh ed a ing, on he o he hand, akes he highes no mal weigh ed sco e as a e e ence (1
being ideal, o 100% analogously). Fo he o he sco es, each no mal weigh ed sco e is di ided
by he highes no mal weigh ed sco e in he da a lis . Thus, i A1 is he ideal al e na i e i will
ep esen a 1 and i A3 is 0.55 o he ideal alue, his means ha his candida e's sco e is 55%
om ha o candida e A1.

56 Selec ion o app op ia e eVTOLs as a ool o e i e ul a-sho haul ou es in Eu ope
VIE-SZG (11 candida es)
VIE-SZG (9 candida es)
Al e na i es
Ideal W
No mal
W
Ranking
Ideal W
No mal W
Ranking
Unnamed
E ol (A1)
1
0.219234
1
-
-
-
Illini Ai
Shu le (A2)
0.546002
0.119702
3
1
0.221807
1
Genesys
X-2 (A3)
0.502381
0.110139
5
0.853739
0.189366
2
T ini y (A4)
0.574552
0.125961
2
-
-
-
eT anspo e
(A5)
0.339498
0.074429
7
0.537165
0.119147
5
S4 (A6)
0.253341
0.055541
8
0.322289
0.071486
6
Mis al (A7)
0.464606
0.101858
6
0.625267
0.138689
4
P ospe i y
(A8)
0.151071
0.033120
10
0.192425
0.042681
8
ET9 001(A9)
0.204228
0.044774
9
0.267448
0.059322
7
Ba ini
(A10)
0.001267
0.000278
11
0.003801
0.000843
9
GJe Kóan
(A11)
0.524391
0.114964
4
0.706282
0.156659
3
Table 7.5 Ranked sco e lis o Scena io 1 wi h 9 and 11 al e na i es.
Figu e 7.1: (a) Ideal sco e lis o Scena io 1 wi h 11 al e na i es (b) Ideal sco e lis o Scena io 1 wi h 9
al e na i es by means o Supe Decisions ool.
Applica ion o AHP Resul s o eVTOL Selec ion 57
7.2.2 Ranked sco e lis o Scena io 2 wi h 3 al e na i es
Again, he lis o weigh ed sco es is ob ained and p esen ed in he o m o a anking. This ime,
o Scena io 2 (ORY-BOD), conside a ion is gi en only o he 3 candida es who a e able o mee
he ope a ional equi emen s o he ou e. Table 7.5 below shows hese esul s:
Pa ís-O ly–Bo deaux
Al e na i es
Ideal W
No mal W
Ranking
Unnamed eVTOL (A1)
0.629786
0.317283
2
Mis al (A7)
0.355146
0.178921
3
GJe Kóan (A11)
1
0.503796
1
Table 7.6: Ranked sco e lis o Scena io 2 wi h 3 al e na i es.
Assis ed by he Supe Decisions ool, simila as in Figu e 7.1, Figu e 7.2 shows he ideal and
no mal sco e o each o he 3 candida es in g aphical o m. I is impo an o no e ha da a
has been inse ed in o and checked in he ool.
Figu e 7.2: Ranked sco e lis o Scena io 2 wi h 3 al e na i es by means o Supe Decisions ool.
7.3 Compa ison o eVTOL Rankings Ac oss Scena ios
Once he ankings ha e been achie ed o bo h scena ios, a compa ison o he esul s o he
Vienna-Salzbu g and Pa is-O ly-Bo deaux ou es is pe o med, aking in o accoun he 3, 9 and
11 candida es case s udy.
7.3.1 Compa ison o eVTOL Rankings Ac oss Scena io 1
Unde he ﬁ s scena io, Vienna-Salzbu g, in he case o 11 al e na i es (including A1 and A4),
he bes ai c a in he pool o choices was Kelekona's Unnamed eVTOL (1s place), ollowed
by T ini y (2nd place). Coinciden ally, bo h ai c a a e he ones ha we e excluded in he s udy
o 9 al e na i es due o lack o in o ma ion in some c i e ia.
I is also wo h no ing he ad an age o he ﬁ s candida e o e he second, as Ace VTOL's
T ini y ai c a sco ed 57% ela i e o he ﬁ s . And, al hough he Illini Ai Shu le (3 d place),
Gje Koan (4 h place) and Genesys X-2 (5 h place) sco ed close o A4, he second o ﬁ h
anked ai c a a e s ill a om he bes candida e o his ou e. So, i we we e o conside all
11 al e na i es o he Aus ian domes ic ou e, he candida e chosen o esume ope a ions
58 Selec ion o app op ia e eVTOLs as a ool o e i e ul a-sho haul ou es in Eu ope
would be candida e A1. This is mainly due o he ac ha A1 s ands ou on all 3 c i e ia: sea
capaci y (C1), maximum payload (C3) and ange (C4). Bea ing in mind ha in his case, ange
occupied 46.46% o he weigh and sea ing capaci y 17.6%, i s 483 km o ange and 40 sea s
o accommoda e passenge s made al e na i e 1 a clea candida e o be chosen.
On he o he hand, weigh ed sco es we e ex ac ed om he analy ical hie a chical p ocess o
he 9 ai c a wi h all he deﬁned c i e ia o he Vienna-Salzbu g. The mos sui able and highes
sco ing candida e o ope a ing in scena io 1 is he Illini Ai Shu le (1s place), ollowed by
Genesys-X-2 (2nd place) and Gje Koan (3 d place). O e all, he Illini Ai Shu le is he mos
comple e eVTOL ai c a ac oss he diﬀe en c i e ia assessed in he AHP p ocess. Wi h a
10-passenge capaci y, 321 km ange and 4882 kg maximum ake-oﬀ weigh (among o he s),
his candida e is he chosen one o ope a e he ou e.
7.3.2 Compa ison o eVTOL Rankings Ac oss Scena io 2
Wi hin he second scena io, he weigh ings o each c i e ion a ied in p opo ion due o he
con ex ual diﬀe ence o he ou e. Fo he F ench domes ic ou e, we p oceed o discuss he
esul s o he weigh ed sco es ob ained in he AHP p ocess, o he case o 3 candida es.
The highes sco ing candida e o he Pa is-O ly-Bo deaux ou e is he Gje Koan, ollowed by
he Unnamed eVTOL ai c a and he Mis al. The s eng h o his ai c a ela i e o i s
compe i o s is i s o e all balance, as i only excels in one c i e ion ye emains compe i i e in
he o he s. Bea ing in mind ha he ou h c i e ion ( ange) makes up 50.56% o he weigh
amongs he c i e ia o his scena io and ha he Gje Koan is he mos compe i i e ai c a
wi h a ange o 562 km, ﬁ s place is de ensible. Howe e , being he sea ing capaci y i s
bigges limi a ion (4 passenge s), i should be no ed ha his ea u e will dec ease o a la ge
ex en he chances o eco e ing pas aﬃc due o he high passenge demand p io o he
es ic ion.
Viabili y o eVTOL implemen a ion 59
8. Viabili y o eVTOL implemen a ion
Aiming o esume he Vienna-Salzbu g and Pa is-O ly-Bo deaux ou es which we e banned o
sus ainabili y easons and ega ding en i onmen al emissions, an eVTOL ai c a selec ion
p ocess has been ca ied ou h ough an analy ical hie a chical p ocess. The candida es unde
conside a ion a e elec ically powe ed ai c a , as opposed o con en ional ossil- uelled
ai c a .
Ca ying ou he p ocedu e desc ibed du ing he cou se o he s udy has made i possible o
de e mine he bes candida es o ope a ing he ou es unde analysis. This sec ion, aking in o
accoun se e al aspec s, will analyse he easibili y o implemen ing hese ai c a in he ai
anspo ma ke as o oday.
8.1. Summa y o AHP esul s
The eVTOL ai c a decision-making p ocess, in connec ion wi h he ou es subs i u ed by a ail
al e na i e, esul ed in a anking in he o m o weigh ed sco es whe e he bes candida e
ecei ed he highes sco e. The esul s o bo h scena ios we e as ollows:
The Unnamed eVTOL has been chosen o he Vienna-Salzbu g ou e by assessing all
candida es (including A1 and A4) wi h he quan i a i e cha ac e is ics o each c i e ion as
deﬁned in Table 4.1. Likewise, conside ing only 9 candida es, he chosen candida e is he Illini
Ai Shu le (A2).
On he F ench domes ic ou e scena io, he Gje Koan om eJe Ae ospace was selec ed while
compe ing wi h Mis al and Unnamed eVTOL. These 3 we e only conside ed o he AHP
p ocess due o he ac ha hey we e he only ones which we e able o mee he ope a ional
needs o he ou e.
A mo e de ailed discussion o he cons aining ac o s o be conside ed in he easibili y o
implemen ing eVTOL ope a ions in he sho e m, will be p o ided. Res ic i e ac o s o be
aken in o accoun in assessing how ealis ic i is o include his ype o ai c a in day- o-day
ope a ions a e:
● accommoda ing he p e ious demand o be eco e ed,
● he ime ame o egula ion and ce iﬁca ion o hese ai c a ,
● he cu en in as uc u e,
● he ﬁnancial challenge ha would in ol e.
8.2. Accommoda ing P e ious T aﬃc Demand
● Scena io 1: Vienna-Salzbu g
Based on 2019 da a, he aﬃc o be eco e ed p io o he eplacemen o he ou e is o 909
ﬂigh s and a o al o 78467 sea s [26]. Selec ing he 40-sea Unnamed eVTOL would equi e a
o al o 1960 ﬂigh s pe yea . These annual ﬂigh s would co espond o 5-6 daily ﬂigh s
be ween he ci ies o Vienna and Salzbu g, meaning a wo- old inc ease in equency in o de
o mee he his o ical needs o he ou e.
I he selec ed ai c a we e he Illini Ai Shu le, since i oﬀe s 25% o he sea s o se e
passenge s in compa ison o he A1, hen he daily equency should be inc eased o 21 ﬂigh s
60 Selec ion o app op ia e eVTOLs as a ool o e i e ul a-sho haul ou es in Eu ope
pe day, co esponding o 7840 ﬂigh s pe yea . O e he cou se o a yea , he daily equency
should be mul iplied by a ac o o 8 compa ed o ha es ablished wi h con en ional ai c a .
● Scena io 2: Pa is O ly-Bo deaux
Challenges in mee ing he ope a ional needs o he ou e and he p e ious high passenge
demand c ea es majo cons ain s o esuming his ou e as o oday wi h his ype o
non-con en ional ai c a . Acco ding o he s a is ical bulle in o comme cial ai aﬃc in F ance
o 2023, he Pa is-Bo deaux ou e had a aﬃc o 649109 passenge s [50]. Al hough his is he
aﬃc coming om Cha les de Gaulle (CDG), i is he one we will use o he equency
es ima ion.
Wi h he objec i e o b inging in he Gje Koan, he 4-sea ai c a , i is nei he easible no
p ac ical o ope a e i , as i would equi e 162277 ﬂigh s pe yea and 445 ﬂigh s pe day in
o de o main ain he 2023 aﬃc.
Due o he limi ed sea ing capaci y o he ai c a o se e passenge s on he
Pa is-O ly-Bo deaux ou e, enhancing he possibili y o ope a e hese 445 daily ﬂigh s wi h he
Gje Koan could be achie ed h ough a ﬂee expansion. In his ega d, he ai line conce ned,
Ai F ance, would need o unde ake a la ge in es men and dispose o mul iple eVTOL ai c a
o his model in o de o cope wi h he expec ed aﬃc. So, all in all, eco e ing p e ious
demand h ough he bes - a ed ai c a acco ding o he AHP p ocess is a complex and
demanding ask when compa ed o he Aus ian ou e.
8.3. Ce iﬁca ion challenges and in as uc u e equi emen s
P io o conside ing he in as uc u e equi emen s needed o accommoda e any eVTOL
ai c a , ce iﬁca ion challenges o hese ai c a a e he p io i y in he hie a chy o be
conside ed. Gi en hei echnological inno a ion, as well as he changes hei implemen a ion
would en ail in he indus y, en i ies such as he FAA (Fede al A ia ion Adminis a ion in he
USA) and he EASA (Eu opean A ia ion Sa e y Agency) cu en ly need o speed up he p ocess
o c ea ing new egula o y amewo ks in o de o ce i y he deploymen o hese ai c a and
allow hem o ope a e in he sho e m. I no , delays in ce iﬁca ion may pos pone he
implemen a ion o eVTOL ai c a in he ma ke and, indi ec ly, hinde he ein oduc ion o
hese banned ou es.
Ai po s in ol ed in he Vienna-Salzbu g and Pa is-O ly-Bo deaux ou es a e no designed o
accommoda e and a ac eVTOL ai c a ope a ions, as hey cons i u e con en ional ai po s.
The e o e, e en i he los aﬃc o 78467 sea s o Scena io 1 and 649109 passenge s is o be
eco e ed ia high equencies and boos ed by he inc ease in eVTOL ﬂee by Aus ian Ai lines
and Ai F ance, ai po s o Vienna, Salzbu g, Pa is-O ly and Bo deaux would ha e o be
upg aded.
Ve ipo s a nea u ban loca ions could be an op ion o accommoda e hese ai c a in o de o
educe passenge access imes and o enhance he mode o anspo . Ci y e ipo s should
he e o e be c ea ed in he icini y o la ge ci ies o , i possible, con en ional ai po s should be
adap ed o include e ipo s.
In addi ion o his, ba e y cha ging in as uc u e has o be conside ed when analysing he
easibili y o implemen ing eVTOL in comme cial ai aﬃc ope a ions. In o de o educe
wai ing imes o ba e y cha ging and inc ease ope a ional eﬃciency, he elec ic cha ging g id

Viabili y o eVTOL implemen a ion 61
capaci y will ha e o be adap ed a e ipo s and con en ional ai po s o mee he demand.
G id capaci y can be conﬁgu ed wi h as cha ge s o ba e y swapping. Fas cha ge s would
educe ba e y cha ging ime and ba e y swaps would di ec ly elimina e his wai ing ime. The
downside o a g id ha allows au oma ic ba e y swaps is ha , in o de o do so, ba e y size
and capaci y would equi e s anda disa ion ac oss all manu ac u e s.
8.4 Economic Feasibili y
Ul ima ely, i emains o assess he impac and economic iabili y o esuming his pai o
ou es by means o elec ic ai anspo . Ce ainly, mos o hese eVTOL ai c a a e in he
de elopmen o p o o yping phase and, because o he echnological inno a ion ha hese
ehicles ep esen o da e, hei pu chase cos s will be mo e signiﬁcan han hose o
con en ional ai c a . This may cause a ﬁnancial ba ie o en y o ai lines, since, e en i uel
cos s and emission axes a e cos -sa ing o e he li e ime o he ai c a , he en y cos s o
acqui ing mo e han jus an ai c a a e high.
A measu e o be conside ed by EU coun ies would be o acili a e low-in e es ﬁnancing o
encou age in es men om hese ai lines. Besides his, he in as uc u e o be accommoda ed
is also associa ed wi h signiﬁcan cos s o mee he ope a ional equi emen s.
Finally, success ul esump ion o hese ou es (pa ly o economic easons) will be abou
con incing and a ac ing he common public o use his mode o anspo ins ead o
high-speed ail. Should ai lines make a signiﬁcan in es men o ope a e hese ou es wi h
elec ic ai c a , and passenge demand is no a ac ed, he solu ion would no be
economically easible.
62 Selec ion o app op ia e eVTOLs as a ool o e i e ul a-sho haul ou es in Eu ope
9 Sus ainabili y and social commi men
A p ojec sus ainabili y ma ix including en i onmen al, economic and social pe spec i es is
equi ed o 3 s ages o he p ojec (see Table 9.1).
Poin o iew
Phase
Desc ip ion
De elopmen o he wo k
Ca bon oo p in limi ed o compu e
ene gy consump ion o in o ma ion
esea ch and emo e mee ings wi h
wo k supe iso .
En i onmen al
P ojec execu ion
Implemen a ion o eVTOLs would
signiﬁcan ly educe he ca bon
oo p in o ai ou es. S ill, adap ing
in as uc u e o exis ing needs
would ha e an impac on u ban
cen es.
Risks and limi a ions
The need o elec ici y gene a ion
may en ail an en i onmen al isk
when i does no come om
enewable sou ces.
De elopmen o he wo k
The economic impac has been
limi ed o academic esou ces on
mul i-c i e ia p oblems.
Economic
P ojec execu ion
Economic iabili y will be
de e mined, la gely by suppo om
go e nmen al en i ies, as he
acquisi ion cos s o eVTOLs and
e ipo s a e signiﬁcan .
Risks and limi a ions
Ea ly ce iﬁca ion o ai c a and
social accep ance by he
communi y will be needed o
eco e he ini ial cos s.
De elopmen o he wo k
Acqui ing expe ience in objec i e
decision-making.
Social
P ojec execu ion
eVTOLs could gene a e ejec ion in
he ini ial phase due o hei
limi a ions compa ed o
con en ional ai c a .
Risks and limi a ions
Should he ba ie o en y be cos ly
o he gene al public, social
inequali ies could be gene a ed.
Table 9.1: Sus ainabili y ma ix
Conclusions and u u e wo k 63
10 Conclusions and u u e wo k
A ew in a-Eu opean ou es we e indi ec ly highligh ed as con ibu o s o g eenhouse gas
emissions and subsequen ly aﬀec ed by sus ainabili y- ocused policy measu es. Gi en he
Eu opean Union's objec i es, as deﬁned in he Eu opean G een Deal, o ze o ne ca bon
oo p in by 2050, new legisla ions we e pu in place o eplace and subs i u e ﬁ e p e iously
ope a ed ai ou es.
The aﬀec ed ou es consis ed o : Vienna-Salzbu g, Ams e dam-B ussels and
Pa is-O ly-Bo deaux wi h Nan es and Lyon, being mainly ope a ed by KLM Royal Du ch
Ai lines, Ai F ance and Aus ian Ai lines. Howe e , as p e iously epo ed, only 6.1% o CO2
emissions co espond o ﬂigh s wi h a adius o less han 500 km. As a esul , he po en ial o
emission educ ions by a ge ing es ic ed ul a-sho ou es is low and ocus should be pu on
mo e sus ainable means owa ds medium and long-haul ou es.
The eby, h ough he analy ical hie a chical p ocess in which eVTOL ai c a a e he candida es
o esume he Vienna-Salzbu g and Pa is-O ly Bo deaux ou es, a mul i-c i e ia analysis using
quan i a i e da a de e mines he bes ai c a capable o ope a ing in each scena io.
To eco e he 78467 sea s oﬀe ed on he Aus ian ou e, Kelekona's Unnamed eVTOL would
ha e o ope a e ﬁ e o six daily ou es. This would mean a doubling o he pas equency in
2019. Should he Illini Ai Shu le be selec ed, in o de o mee his o ical demand, i s daily
equency should be inc eased o 21 ﬂigh s pe day.
Gi en he 493 km ﬂigh dis ance and he high demand o 649109 passenge s,
Pa is-O ly-Bo deaux equi es demanding condi ions o he implemen a ion o eVTOL ai c a .
The annual numbe o mo emen s wi h he implemen a ion o he ﬁ s al e na i e, Gje Koan,
would amoun o 162277 ﬂigh s and 445 daily ﬂigh s. Fo he applican Gje Koan, he
ope a ion does no seem ealis ic.
I is wo h no ing ha , du ing his decision-making p ocess, no conside a ion has been aken
in o accoun ega ding he equi ed de elopmen in e ms o ei he ba e ies, in as uc u e
equi ed o accommoda e his inno a i e means o anspo o he ime ho izon o eseen o
ob ain ﬂigh ce iﬁca ions. And, al hough he beneﬁ s o implemen ing eVTOL ai c a in
comme cial ai anspo ha e been highligh ed, he e a e nume ous diﬃcul ies in ein oducing
ai ou es coupled wi h eVTOLs.
Financial sus ainabili y o ai lines is unce ain, la gely because he p ices o hese ai c a a e
unknown and he e o e he ROI (Re u n On In es men ) is unce ain. Elemen s such as he
social accep ance o his new mode o anspo emain an open ques ion, as well as he
in eg a ion o e ipo s in majo Eu opean ci ies ha would acili a e passenge access imes.
Regula ion is a challenge and en i ies such as he FAA and EASA mus accele a e he
ce iﬁca ion p ocess o p omo e he ein oduc ion o bo h ou es. On op o his, Vienna,
Salzbu g, Pa is-O ly and Bo deaux ai po s will need o be emodelled o include e ipo s
wi hin he cu en design concep .
The e is a limi ed po en ial o emission educ ion on hese ul a-sho haul ou es and eVTOL
implemen a ion is challenging a his s age. S akeholde collabo a ion will be key in o de o
p omo e comme cial deploymen o hese ai c a in he nea - e m. A he end, sho -haul
ou es will be he ﬁ s ones o be ully deca bonised once he echnology is ully in place. Wi h
he ongoing ce iﬁca ion, he p oblem o eVTOL acqui ing will become mo e and mo e ele an
in he u u e and as such will equi e he applica ion o some o he decision making ools.
64 Selec ion o app op ia e eVTOLs as a ool o e i e ul a-sho haul ou es in Eu ope
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