Bigger fleets and shorter flights
“Great expectations: What’s required for AAM players to become some of the largest airlines in the world”
In 2030, passenger advanced-air-mobility operators could rival today’s largest airlines in flights per day and fleet size.
By 2030, the leading companies in the passenger AAM industry could have bigger fleets—and offer many more flights per day—than the world’s largest airlines. Flights will be shorter, averaging only 18 minutes, with fewer passengers on board (between one and six, plus a pilot). That cadence—large numbers of aircraft flying frequent, short flights—will create operational challenges.
For more on those challenges, see
Large airline compared to advanced-air-mobility (AAM) operator
Representative large airline (2019, main line only)
Representative AAM operator (2030, estimated)
Flights
per day
Fleet
size
Network
nodes
Active
pilots
Passengers
per day
Average
flight time
Annual
revenue
~2,200
~20,000
~800
~1,000
~200
~110
~10,500
~4,500
~400,000
~70,000
~140
minutes
~18
minutes
~33
billion
~3
billion
Source: Cirium; investor presentations; US Bureau of Transportation Statistics; McKinsey analysis
