Mobility & Future Aviation

Airport Intelligence Series Rewiring the Kerb: Autonomous Ride-Hailing and the Future of Airport Revenue Models April 2026 7 min read The Phoenix Precedent When Phoenix Sky Harbor opened its kerb to Waymo’s fully driverless Jaguar I-PACEs in December 2023, the city made a pragmatic choice: treat autonomous vehicles (AV) exactly like every other Transportation Network Company. The existing TNC permit framework—annual vehicle permits, geofence-triggered trip logging, and a flat per-trip fee for every pick-up and drop-off—was extended to Waymo without a bespoke regulatory carve-out. That decision has proven consequential. Waymo surpassed 100,000 airport trips cumulatively by mid-2025 and now accounts for a meaningful share of Sky Harbor’s weekly TNC movements, operating 24/7 across Terminals 3 and 4. The fee itself has followed a pre-set escalation path. Starting at $2.66 per curbside pick-up, it rose through annual increments to $5.00 in 2024. Beginning January 2025, Phoenix City Code 4-78 indexes the rate to the greater of 3% or the annual CPI-U change—placing the current effective rate at approximately $5.15 per trip. Critically, both pick-ups and drop-offs are charged, meaning a single round-trip Waymo ride to Sky Harbor generates north of $10 in airport ground-transportation revenue. With Waymo’s fleet set to roughly double once the new Magna-partnered Mesa assembly plant reaches full output—targeting an additional 2,000 Jaguar I-PACEs by end of 2026—trip volumes could grow sharply, and with them the revenue line. Concept of Operations: How It Actually Works The concept of operations (ConOps) for autonomous TNC service at an airport differs from human-driven ride-hail in ways that are subtle but operationally significant. In the conventional model, a TNC driver receives a ride request, enters the airport geofence, navigates to the designated pick-up zone (typically Level 1 of each terminal at Sky Harbor), waits for the passenger, and departs. Between trips, drivers stage in a surface-lot holding area—a TNC staging lot located outside the immediate terminal footprint—where they wait, engine idling, for the next dispatch. Waymo’s ConOps eliminates the driver but introduces a different operational cadence. Vehicles are dispatched from a centralised depot—in Phoenix, the 70,000+ sq ft Chandler facility that houses fleet maintenance, cleaning, and DC fast-charging—rather than from a nearby staging lot. When a ride request is matched, the vehicle drives itself to the terminal kerb, collects the passenger, and proceeds to the destination. On a drop-off, the vehicle enters the airport, delivers the passenger curbside, and either accepts a queued return trip or repositions back toward the depot or a high-demand zone in the metro area. This depot-centric model has three implications for airports. First, it reduces demand for on-airport TNC staging lots because vehicles are not loitering on-site between trips; they reposition algorithmically. Second, it increases the predictability of kerb dwell times—Waymo’s vehicles pull into a precise GPS-designated spot and depart once the passenger is aboard, with no circling or double-parking. Third, it shifts the compliance mechanism from driver behaviour enforcement to API-level data exchange: airports can monitor fleet movements, geofence crossings, and trip counts through a direct integration with the Waymo platform rather than relying on TNC driver app pings. The Fee Architecture: Curbside, Staging, and Beyond Airport ground-transportation revenue from TNCs rests on a layered fee architecture that most airports are still adapting for autonomous fleets. Curbside trip fees. The per-pick-up and per-drop-off charge—$5+ at Phoenix, roughly $6 at SFO—is the primary revenue instrument. SFO’s programme alone generated over $60 million from more than 10 million Uber and Lyft transactions in 2025. When Waymo launched SFO service in January 2026 (operating from the Rental Car Center Level 1 curbside via AirTrain), it was folded into the same fee schedule. The principle is straightforward: if you touch the kerb, you pay. Staging-area access. Airports such as Sky Harbor designate TNC staging lots with 30-minute occupancy limits, enforced by geofence. Human-driven TNCs pay implicitly through the trip fee (staging is bundled), but an autonomous operator with a large captive fleet could, in theory, negotiate a standing holding-area lease—a monthly or annual rental for reserved staging capacity near the terminal. No US airport has publicly disclosed such an arrangement with Waymo to date, but the concept needs to be explored. Washington Dulles’s third kerb—a dedicated 500-linear-foot TNC pick-up lane with steel canopy—illustrates how airports are already carving out premium real estate for ride-hail, and a similar premium-access model could apply to AV staging. Electric-vehicle charging fees. This is the frontier. Waymo’s fleet is fully electric (Jaguar I-PACE, transitioning to the Geely Zeekr), and every vehicle that serves the airport must charge somewhere. Today, Waymo charges at its own off-airport depot in Chandler, drawing power through utility partnerships with Salt River Project (SRP) and Arizona Public Service (APS). The airport collects nothing from this energy transaction. But if an airport were to install DC fast-charging infrastructure on or adjacent to the terminal—say, integrated into a redesigned TNC staging lot—it could levy a per-kWh or per-session charging fee on top of the trip fee. Can Waymo Go Solar and Sidestep Charging Fees? The question is commercially relevant. Waymo already procures 100% renewable energy for its fleet—purchasing over 6,200 MWh of solar and wind energy in 2022 through partnerships with NextEra Energy Resources, SRP, and Google’s clean-energy portfolio. In Arizona, the economics of behind-the-meter solar are compelling: utility-scale solar PPAs in the state run below $0.03/kWh, and commercial rooftop installations can achieve levelised costs under $0.05/kWh. Could Waymo install its own solar canopy at a leased airport staging area and effectively zero out its charging cost? Technically, yes. A 1 MW solar carport covering a 50-vehicle staging lot in Phoenix could generate roughly 2,000 MWh per year—enough to supply approximately 150 to 200 fast charges per day at the lot. But airports control the real estate. Any on-airport solar installation would require a ground lease, utility interconnection approval, and adherence to FAA glare and obstruction standards. The airport could structure the lease so that it captures a share of the energy savings—for example, charging a per-kWh facility fee on any electricity

Airport Intelligence Series When Technology Meets Compassion: Lessons from KitKat and the Future of Autonomous Mobility November 2025 4 min read The future is here. Our condolences to the family, fans and well-wishers of KitKat, the 9-year-old tabby cat, a beloved fixture of Randa’s Market in the Mission District of San Francisco. The local community reaction is strong: slogans such as “Kill a Waymo! Save a cat!” reflect anger and fear, not just sadness. The incident may trigger regulatory scrutiny of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs). Of course, the incident isn’t just about a pet — it touches on AV safety, public trust in urban tech deployments, and how the community perceives tech vs. local culture. One small step for man, a giant step for mankind as they say – sometimes there are missteps on the way. AVs are here to stay and will continue to roll out over the next decade. Safety will not be as much of a problem as we think in the future though there is no incident free perfect world. Tech is not perfect. But the direction is positive in terms of the improvement in key safety metrics. A dataset found that autonomous vehicles (including driverless/ADS and test vehicles) logged 132 collisions in California during one year (Dec 2022–Nov 2023) over about 9 million miles driven, equating to ~ 14.6 crashes per million vehicle-miles travelled. [1] A legal-analysis page cites that during 2022 in California, AVs drove about 5.7 million miles and were involved in 150 reported collisions: ~ 26.3 crashes per million miles. For one fully autonomous fleet (Waymo), a study [2] over 56.7 million miles through January 2025 found that against human driver benchmarks, their “any-injury-reported” crash rate was ~0.6 incidents per million miles vs ~2.80 for humans (≈ 80% reduction). Earlier comparative numbers cited ~9.1 crashes per million miles for self-driving cars vs ~4.1 per million miles for conventional cars. The key takeaways can be summarized as follows: The higher crash-per-mile numbers in some test-vehicle datasets (e.g., ~26.3 per million miles) likely reflect earlier-stage deployments, constrained geographies, and many “minor” incidents (including low-speed events). The numbers differ widely because of definitions (test vehicles vs commercial ride-hailing AVs), locations (urban vs highway), operating conditions (supervised vs unsupervised), what constitutes a “crash” (minor vs serious), and how mileage is reported. Many AVs are still in pilot/test mode, with safety drivers, limited geofenced areas, and lower speeds; comparing directly to the broader human-driver fleet is challenging. For mature fleets like Waymo’s, the data points to substantially lower serious crash/injury rates compared to human drivers—but the absolute crash count is still non-zero, and mileage is still much smaller than human-driven miles. The real metric for societal benefit is not just crash count but injuries/fatalities avoided, types of crashes, severity, and how the technology scales into more complex environments. The lower serious-injury crash rates (e.g., Waymo’s ~0.02 serious-injury+ per million miles in some analyses) is evidence of progress. Tabby was a wakeup call that there is a lot to be done to prioritize safety for all roadway users. Godspeed, Tabby.  [1] Statista [2] Comparison of Waymo Rider-Only Crash Data to Human Benchmarks at 7.1 Million Miles, Kristofer D. Kusano, John M. Scanlon et al Share Share Share

Airport Intelligence Series Urban Air Mobility: Challenges and Opportunities Ahead October 2025 5 min read   Urban Air Mobility in India needs a collaborative approach  Urban Air Mobility (UAM) or the use of small, highly automated aircraft to carry passengers or cargo at lower altitudes in urban and suburban areas is knocking on our doors. This isn’t something that will unfold only in our grandchildren’s lifetime—it’s much closer at hand. Much of the conversation about UAM and eVOTL is around technology and safety. Even though these are key factors that will drive adoption, what we sometimes forget is the wider acceptance into the urban mobility ecosystem. While the technology side is gathering momentum with several startups working on the VTOL/STOL aircraft designs and collaborating with operator networks, there isn’t enough conversation around how these vertiports will fit into the built environment of high-density cities. Typical urban development plans today do not account for safe, accessible, and equitable vertiport deployment, especially in the metro cities, which are the target markets for UAM. Without thoughtful integration into city mobility plans, the promise of UAM could remain limited to a handful of showcase routes. If history teaches us one thing, it’s this; cities that committed to people oriented planning have a higher chance of sustaining their growth. London, New York, and Hong Kong stand as prime examples- dense urban centres where mobility is managed efficiently thanks to infrastructure planned 50 to 100 years in advance with people, not cars, at the core. A single vertiport may require about 1 to 1.5 acres and can be located on ground or over buildings, but its value lies in being part of a wider network. When connected across the city and integrated with other transportation modes for last mile connectivity, vertiports can offer a new layer of urban connectivity. Planning for this, however, demands more than just aviation know-how. It requires urban planning, infrastructure design, and public policy to work in sync, and requires a cross-sector collaborative approach to implementation. The India Perspective:In India, InterGlobe Enterprises (parent of IndiGo) had announced its partnership with California-based Archer Aviation to launch electric air taxis in India by 2026. Early this year the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) released its first guidance material for the design, operation, and authorization of vertiports (the landing and takeoff pads for VTOLs), signaling a clear policy shift towards Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). There is growing investor interest, but unlocking the full potential of AAM will depend on how swiftly the regulatory and infrastructure challenges are tackled.  How Indian Cities Must Prepare1. Define the Vision: Identify whether UAM’s focus is on passenger transport, logistics, or emergency response and map corridors that align with these goals.2. Use Spatial Analytics: Apply GIS-based modeling to select sites that meet safety, access, and environmental criteria while minimizing community impact.3. Update Planning Regulations: Introduce vertiport overlays in General Control Regulations (GCRs) covering height limits, setbacks, and permissible activities.4. Start with Pilots: Begin with low-density pilot vertiports in publicly supported zones. Use participatory mapping and noise simulation to engage communities.5. Build Collaborative Governance: Create inter-agency task forces to align aviation, transport, and urban development approvals and streamline the regulatory pathway.   Case Study: Dubai International Vertiport (DXV) Dubai has been leading the way on UAM, through the planned DXV Skyport, located near Dubai International Airport. Developed by Skyports in partnership with the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), the project marks one of the first instances globally where a commercial vertiport has received technical design approval from a national aviation authority following a rigorous technical evaluation. The process, governed by General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) CAR-HVD Part III regulations, ensures that the proposed infrastructure complies with the standards for physical characteristics, airspace integration, obstacle clearance, and safety systems. The review also mandated a detailed Rescue and Fire Fighting Services (RFFS) plan and the incorporation of security and emergency response protocols within the design. From a planning perspective, Dubai adopted a mobility corridor approach, mapping potential aerial routes between dense business districts and a wider network of vertiports across key city nodes such as Palm Jumeirah, Downtown, and Dubai Marina. This planning process involved close collaboration between aviation regulator GCAA, the transport authority RTA, private operator Joby Aviation and other stakeholders. The Path Forward for IndiaTrue potential of UAM emerges only when planned as a connected network. Multiple vertiports, strategically placed along mobility corridors and integrated with multimodal transport is a requirement. Achieving this vision will require more than technological readiness; it calls for a coordinated effort involving aviation authorities, city planners, transport agencies, and utility service providers. Indian cities will need to reimagine zoning and land-use frameworks, embed safety and resilience standards into building codes, and establish clear public engagement mechanisms to address community concerns on equity, noise, and visual impact. Early engagement and transparent communication will be critical for public acceptance. The success of India’s UAM ecosystem will ultimately depend on how effectively stakeholders collaborate. Operators alone cannot shoulder the burden of navigating complex regulatory pathways. An inter-agency task force, bringing together DGCA, MoHUA, state urban departments, and private developers, will be essential to coordinate policies, approvals, and pilot projects. If done right, Urban Air Mobility could redefine how Indian cities connect, move, and grow. Share Share Share

Airport Intelligence Series Can LAT Aerospace Disrupt Indian Aviation? July 2025 4 min read In a move that’s turning heads across both startup and aviation circles, Zomato co-founder Deepinder Goyal has co-launched LAT Aerospace. What’s novel here is not just the aircraft, but the ambition to redesign India’s regional air travel architecture from the ground up. No, they are not going after the traffic laden Indian metro cities, offering an air-taxi product and promising to solve the at grade congestion. LAT is targeting trips that are too thin for 180-seater jets, too painful for overnight trains, and too long for road—yet rich in demand. India currently sees 25+ billion such intercity trips per year, by some estimates, making it a deeply fragmented but high-potential segment. What we know so far: Vision: Democratize intercity flying and offer bus-like frequency at near-rail fares. Aircraft: 12–24 seater hybrid-electric STOL aircraft. Infrastructure: “Air-stops” the size of parking lots with minimal runway requirements. Target Segment: 200–800 km travel demand between Tier 2 and 3 cities The company is positioning itself as a provider of “buses in the sky”. Think no airport queues, no security lines, no terminals—just walk in and fly. Essentially an entirely new segment of air mobility. Technology is key:However, the idea is currently in the concept stage. Much will depend on how quickly and effectively the company can design, test, and certify the aircraft. Deepinder Goyal’s public call for talent signals that LAT is still assembling its core engineering team. The entire proposition hinges on a key technological enabler: a certified, efficient, low-cost hybrid-electric STOL aircraft. And this is where the timelines can stretch. Another challenge could be the regulatory compliances. Even if LAT positions itself as an air taxi or commuter service, it would still fall under the purview of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Current norms require Non-Scheduled Operator Permits (NSOPs), full airworthiness certification, and compliance even for a 9 seater aircraft. Business Idea Analysis:We used the strategic framework of Porter’s Five Forces to assess the competitive landscape of the industry that LAT will operate in. The five forces are – industry rivalry, threat of new entrants, supplier power, threat of substitutes, and buyer power.    The Porter’s analysis reveals the challenging industry with high entry barriers but LAT is seeking out an underserved market. While a lot is dependent on overcoming supplier limitations, regulatory hurdles, and achieving cost-effective operations to compete with the existing and new competition. Timing might be right:India has, in the past, seen many well-intentioned ventures in regional aviation, and yet most of them have failed to scale or sustain operations. That said, there are three converging factors that make LAT’s timing interesting. Policy momentum is shifting. DGCA is collaborating with ICAO to draft a comprehensive Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) regulatory framework, including hybrid-electric aircraft and modular infrastructure. Propulsion technologies are becoming increasingly viable for STOLs, with multiple credible developments, including FAA granting a G‑1 certification basis to Ampaire’s AMP‑H570 propulsion system[1], thus formally recognizing the technical viability of hybrid electric retrofits on STOL-type aircraft. The passenger demand in Tier 2 and 3 cities increasing along with their purchasing power. DGCA has also published the guidelines for the design, construction and operation of vertiports, but there is significant work to be done on the specifics of the guidelines and the business viability of vertiports. Given the potential of the market and seasoned entrepreneurs backing the venture, incumbent airports and airlines must take note and may be reassess how they engage with Tier 2/3 traffic and potential avenues to partner or incubate their own STOL as a defensive play. Bottomline is that there seems to be sufficient tailwind for LAT Aerospace and if it works, it can ripple across the ecosystem, with new employment and business opportunities. [1]https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2025-05-13/ampaire-scores-faa-g-1-hybrid-electric-propulsion-system Share Share Share