“I don't see it stopping it, however, given the amount of investment shown.”
BAHAHAHHA how many fucks do you think the FAA gives about how much money is spent on new aircraft? none.
Not only that but the noise complaints will be insane. Helicopters now in cities like New York and LA are extremely limited because of the noise. And these electric drones are even louder. Good luck
We have some “established” airways but that is not really how airspace works. And not how the FAA functions either. Part 25 of the FAR regulates the minimum standards by which passenger carrying aircraft must abide by. In order for these autonomous drones carrying people to work the FAA would need to rebuild that entire section or create a whole new set of regulations and build new airspace.
When my company buys a new airplane it takes the FAA 6 months (after we have bought it) for them to say, yes you can fly this airplane. One that is fully certified meets all standards and well known airplanes. You’re talking about building an entire new type of passenger carrying aircraft and asking the FAA to build special airspace for it. The new type will need to go through rigorous testing to prove its airworthy. Why do you think we are still flying the 737 an airplane designed and built In the 1960s? Because it takes places like Boeing over a decade and billions of dollars to design, build, and certify a new airplane.
The problem is never the tech it’s always the regulators.
You are very logical in your thinking but are missing a lot of information about the limitations on what is possible in the air. Aircraft being built right now will fly for the next 40 years and building the new airspace you’re talking about would require extremely expensive retrofits to already flying aircraft. That kind of extreme cost will deter this from happening soon.
The FAA recently took almost 15 years to implement a system called ADS-B for all airplanes flying in the US. All it is, is a satellite based transponder system that reports GPS altitude and speed. The push back from the industry was insane as it cost operators of jets $30K to $100K PER AIRCRAFT.
The biggest hurdle we have for your proposals is cost. And no technology does not reduce cost in aviation. Example, I flew a twin that had an alternator commonly used in cars. Same part number, same manufacturer, but the one for the plane said aviation on the side. That alternator cost $600 for the airplane the one cars was $80. The reason for the insane cost? The FAA.
It ain’t going to happen any time soon
The amount of complexity in automation you are talking about is mind boggling. Joe public have no clue what goes into the automation of aircraft or the complexity of air traffic. The sky seems really simple until you get an idea of everything that goes into making sure aircraft don’t hit each other, fly into mountains, the dirt, or into thunderstorms. Winds change constantly, fog, mist, icing conditions, turbulence, bird activity, military activity, wild fires, etc. there is an infinite number of variables to deal with when flying.
Then you start talking about safety aspect of the aircraft. Minimum fuel reserves, system failure procedures, engine failure procedures, loss of GPS (happens A LOT), loss of ground based navigation, instrument failures, software bugs (again happens A LOT) I could go on and on.
Aviation is extremely safe because we have spent decades perfecting flying and you have to have intelligence to be able to interpret all the data coming at you. It’s going to be a long while before an AI can safely automate all of that.
It is a massive amount of their profit and yes the airlines are very very cheap for what they offer. A lot of people (before COVID) complained about the product they were offering. But the fact that you could buy flights on spirit (garbage product but super super cheap) from Chicago to Las Vegas for $28 per ticket is just insane. The profit margins at the airlines are so thin compared to other industries. The amount of regulations we have to comply with is insane even just as pilots. Which contributed to safety for sure but just to keep me legal to fly costs my employer about $60K per year just in training costs. And that is the cost before I earn the company a single penny by flying and does not include my salary. That is just sending me to the simulator for currency training every 6 months.
All six seats filled splitting the cost would be a little more per passenger than getting first class. But trust me the experience is 1000x better than the airlines. No security, no waiting, no baggage check, no charge for parking, none of that.
Oh yeah that market is thriving right now for sure. Private charter is booming right now and expanding quickly. The problem is it’s prohibitively expensive to start and operate a business in charter aviation. I want to myself but I need around $5 to $10 million to get started. I don’t have that kind of cash
In smaller airplanes for shorter trips yes. For example, you could charter a Cessna 400 series airplane 6 - 8 passenger seat twin engine piston airplane from Los Angeles to Las Vegas for a little bit more than first class at an airline like cost.
I work in the traveling medical industry and have literally been all over the country through the entire pandemic. Been with multiple Covid positive patients. Had to wear a mask because otherwise I would have gotten fired and I support a family of 5. Never got sick.