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Urban air mobility — the concept of transporting people between major cities and regions by air — is gathering momentum. The aircraft technology that will mainly drive this new age of aviation is electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL), and a report by Morgan Stanley has said the market could be worth an estimated $1.5 trillion by 2040.
There is a lot of excitement generating, and understandably so. But there are still some key challenges that need to be addressed in order for the market to take off. Gaining the public’s trust of this new type of aircraft and the high cost of a ticket when the first commercial air taxi services launch are just a couple of the challenges that have been identified by industry experts.
This is where the power of marketing can play a vital role in alleviating these concerns. As the founder of eVTOL Insights & Global Dating Insights, I’ve seen first-hand the road blocks the industry faces and how marketing can aim to educate and alleviate potential concerns.
Some of the first air taxi services are planning to launch within the next two years. However, there has not been a large number of local public events that allow those not associated with the industry to ask questions about the technology, or even get up close to an eVTOL aircraft and see one fly. This poses an important market opportunity for education on the technology, as well as alleviating any public concern.
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Uber’s popular Elevate Summit, which was first held in 2017, has been brilliant for industry leaders across the world to find out what the ride-hailing giant is planning for the ecosystem. But there haven’t been many events held in the communities in which these aircraft will be flying over each day. Many of the eVTOL aircraft being designed are still some years away from being built and certified, but companies have created prototypes that are currently undergoing extensive flight testing. When Covid-19 does not pose a threat, organizing small public events would definitely help showcase this exciting technology and how commercial services will work. This could be instrumental in winning over the public’s trust of urban air mobility.
A great marketing example was conducted by British aerospace firm Vertical Aerospace in January 2020, which displayed its prototype eVTOL aircraft model at the entrance to Canary Wharf Underground Station in London. As one of the busiest stations in the city, the aircraft was in a perfect position to attract the interest of commuters. Vertical Aerospace engineers were also in attendance and on hand to answer any questions they might have.
The aircraft on display wasn’t the one the company intends to bring to market, but the event went a long way to show off the benefits of using this kind of aircraft for traveling — when compared to a car, helicopter or train. Vertical Aerospace has said those traveling in its “air taxi” can leave London’s Heathrow Airport and arrive in Canary Wharf in just minutes when doing the same journey in a car takes more than an hour.
Another example that has helped increase the awareness of eVTOL aircraft was by German startup Volocopter. The company offered 1,000 reservations for people interested to be among the first passengers to take a flight in its eVTOL air taxi, VoloCity. Volocopter is regarded by many as being one of the first companies set to launch commercial air taxi services — potentially as early as 2023. It conducted an extensive social media campaign to its tens of thousands of followers, and to help raise more awareness, former Formula One world champion Nico Rosberg was even among the first to reserve a ticket.
Many industry experts have said these eVTOL aircraft could be 100 times quieter than conventional helicopters, so being able to show them rather than tell could go a long way to converting those who might be skeptical about getting on a flight.
As one of the news sources in the industry, we enjoy a strong working relationship with Vertical Aerospace and Volocopter. But they are just two of many eVTOL aircraft developers working on their own market-ready product. In the U.S., Joby Aviation is also seen by many in the industry to be one of the first to certify its aircraft. While the likes of Archer, Beta Technologies, Jaunt Air Mobility and Wisk have their own planned roadmap.
Airbus and Lilium are big names in Europe, while Slovenian manufacturer Pipistrel was the first company to certify an electric aircraft with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). And in Asia, EHang says it expects to begin building its aerial autonomous vehicles (AAVs) by Q2 2021 — once it has moved into its new 24,000 square-meter production facility.
We’re now entering a really exciting time for the industry, so it’s important for companies to have a strong marketing strategy that will highlight the benefits of eVTOL aircraft to as many people as possible. Timing is crucial, so I’m looking forward to seeing how the industry develops as we edge closer to the first commercial air taxi taking off.
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Author: Simon Corbett, Forbes Councils Member
