“Aviation, as we have seen it traditionally, is going away,” FAA Chief Spokesman Greg Martin told the Salt Lake City Tribune. Rolls Royce predicts that more than 8,000 VLJs will be built in the next 20 years. The FAA, which has a significant interest in the potential of thousands of little jets mixing it up with airliners on the high-level airways, may be even more optimistic than Rolls Royce. It’s saying 4,500 VLJs will be zipping between smaller regional and municipal airports by 2016, many of them as part of the much-hyped but still untested “air taxi” industry. Those are the sort of words that catch the eyes of manufacturers — and critics. The Tribune also got hold of analyst Richard Aboulafia and it turns out his pessimism about the potential for VLJs as air taxis is not limited to Piper. Aboulafia told the Tribune the air taxi concept is “fantasyland” and he also opined that charter companies want bigger, fancier aircraft. “You are not going to see an elaborate network of airports connected by air taxis,” he told the Tribune. “It isn’t going to revolutionize air travel as we know it.”
…Rolls Royce Predicts 8,000 VLJs…
Key Takeaways:
- The FAA and Rolls Royce predict a significant rise in Very Light Jets (VLJs) in the coming years, with the FAA foreseeing 4,500 by 2016 and Rolls Royce over 8,000 in two decades, potentially forming an "air taxi" industry.
- FAA Chief Spokesman Greg Martin believes this signals a departure from traditional aviation.
- However, analyst Richard Aboulafia dismisses the VLJ air taxi concept as "fantasyland," arguing it won't revolutionize air travel and that charter companies prefer larger, fancier aircraft.
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