Establishing common ground when discussing AAM is key not only for the industry, but also for governments to regulate the ecosystem and for the public to understand the societal impact. The following section provides a structured overview of the various, key AAM use cases and their enabling factors. The diverse AAM landscape2 The speed of AAM adoption across its different use cases will vary based on their social acceptance, operational feasibility and financial viability. Different lenses can be applied when clustering AAM use cases. Figure 2 clusters use cases according to three key categories: the nature of what is transported (people, goods or other uses), the key stakeholder type driving the implementation (private or public-private), and the geography where the operations take place (urban, suburban rural or regional). The first category of use cases, organized by the nature of what is transported, comprises three main clusters: passenger transport, cargo transport and other services (the final category providing a service rather than transporting people or goods from point a to point b). For the development of passenger-related use cases, social acceptance will be key. As a result, it is expected that increased levels of automation will only be achieved well after 2030. Automation is expected to be taken up more rapidly for the other two categories, which will also rely on autonomous capabilities to be economically attractive. These three clusters can be further split according to the interest groups that are key to driving the use-cases’ commercialization into private-driven and public-private driven. Private-driven use cases will require a robust business model with strict emphasis on cost efficiency and operational effectiveness to achieve financial viability, so that they can outperform alternative modes when measured through unit economics. Public-private driven use cases will rely on government funding for their financial viability. This public funding would be backed by the strong societal impact that the use case can unlock (e.g. ambulance services). Last, use cases are mapped according to their geographical scope. As seen in Figure 2, a single use case can have value in various geographical contexts. For example, point-to-point shuttles can operate in an urban environment for transporting passengers from train stations to sports events, as well as in regional settings to enhance connectivity between remote communities and nearby urban centres. Depending on the geographic scope, however, some operational considerations differ, and the associated levels of risk can vary (e.g. the difference between performing operations in remote areas with low population density vs. areas that are densely populated – the latter being riskier due to the larger impact in case of an accident).2.1 Systematizing AAM use cases Advanced Air Mobility: Shaping the Future of Aviation 8

Advanced Air Mobility 2024