Planepooling and Air Taxis for Post-COVID Aviation

For most of its history, commercial aviation has tended toward large airplanes, large airports, and rigidly scheduled flights. Now, however, two phenomena—technological innovation and long-term societal changes accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic—are creating an environment in which many flight routes would be better served by “planepooling”: smaller planes, smaller airports, and, for some routes, ad hoc scheduling. We highlight social and technological changes—including COVID-19 prevention measures, electrification of aircraft, and autonomous planes and air taxis—that could make private regional aviation attractive and affordable for business travelers and the middle class. Making planepooling convenient and cost-effective will require some technological advances and some changes in public policy. We propose in particular that regulators consider more-flexible Essential Air Service grants to small airports and the development of a market for regional aviation aerial corridors