Airbus: People Like The Idea Of Urban Air Mobility

Airbus just released the results of a preliminary survey, Preliminary Community Perception Study, on the public’s perception of Urban Air Mobility (UAM), and it’s mostly favorable.

Airbus UTM is part of Airbus and designs digital traffic management for new aircraft to safely enter and share the skies of our future air travel. The research aimed to determine public interest around the deployment of UAM. 44% say they support UAM or are in strong support of it. 41% believe these aircraft can safely share our skies with other vehicles. Overall, the response was positive and shows a growing interest in the deployment of UAM.

That’s good news for an industry that has poured a lot of money and R&D into electric Vertical Take-Off & Landing (eVTOL) platforms. It also will bring into perspective how development goes hand in hand with public perception, since the latter can squash an industry in the early stages.

According to Isabel Del Pozo De Poza, Head of Airspace Management, Airbus UTM:

“As conversations progress around the world concerning the future of our airspace, Airbus UTM continues to be a leader in researching and designing the infrastructure that will allow for the safe advancement of this field,” said Isabel Del Pozo De Poza, Head of Airspace Management, Airbus UTM.

“We want to ensure our communities are educated on UAM and that experts in the industry keep their opinions top of mind when designing alternative transportation systems of the future.”

Airbus Public Perception of Urban Air Mobility — How Soon?

The survey ranked the top concerns for UAM implementation according to the public. The top concern was safety for 55% of the respondents and the second was the amount of sound generated from the aircraft, with 49% and 48% concerned about the volume of sound from the aircraft. Here are the additional findings broken down into demographics of those most likely to be accepting of UAM in the future.

• 67% living in Mexico City are likely or very likely to use UAM.

• 46% living in Los Angeles are likely or very likely to use UAM.

• Those respondents most likely to use UAM have an average commute time of 25 minutes, compared to the group least likely to use UAM, whose average commute time is 19 minutes.

• The 25 to 34 age range has the most positive initial reaction, with 55 percent viewing UAM positively, compared to the 75 to 84 age range, which had the least positive initial reaction with 15% viewing it positively.

Jessie Mooberry, Head of Deployment at Airbus UTM, added:

“While UAM has made great strides with key stakeholders, the public acceptance of the world’s communities is vital to the growth and pace of future adoption.

“We are actively looking to bring the voices of these citizens to the table asevidenced by ongoing work such as these surveys to involve all interested parties to join us in creating this mobile future. We look forward to further tapping these communities as we inform our further work in the field.”

Airbus Takes The Pulse of Tomorrow Urban Air Mobility And It’s Positive

The AirbusUTM Perception Study shows the public is not only ready for UAM but also expecting it. As road congestion gets worse and fewer cars are leaving dealership lots, air mobility is coming up as a viable solution to further our mobility demands.

Stay tuned for more on the Airbus Altiscope Blueprint and what it means regarding our future air travel.