A new era of aviation has begun, and with it, access to a 35-million-passenger-trips-per-day market craving an alternative to trips taken between 50–500 miles. In the U.S., that’s 1.6 trillion person-miles per year traveled uncomfortably by car or uneconomically through the hub-and-spoke network. Technology has limited aviation’s ability to serve this travel-hungry market.
Until now.
Hybrid-electric power has created the powerful opportunity of Direct Aviation. To understand the impact that this form of regional travel will bring to our industry, we created the Direct Aviation Market Outlook.
This report is a rigorous, evolving analysis of regional travel patterns and market opportunity across the United States, the growing demand for a faster, more direct way to move, and the vision to make that opportunity real.
Hybrid-electric propulsion has unlocked transformative capabilities that piston and turbine aircraft could never achieve, creating an opportunity for more than 6,000 new U.S. commercial air routes.
This era will redefine how people and goods move throughout the regions, creating the kind of economic impact that ripples through the nation and the world.
Congestion and geographical barriers impose an enormous toll due to time wasted and productivity lost.
This burden is most acute for the journeys that fall between slow car trips and long-haul flights. This has created a regional mobility gap.
Electra has rigorously examined U.S. regional travel patterns to identify the level of demand for a new model that will transform the way we travel.
This is where the market is dense, the pain is acute, and the value proposition is clearest.
Estimated person-miles per year across all routes
Daily passenger trips
Routes with 1,000+ travelers per day
85%
of these trips lack air service within 40 miles of origin and/or destination
1:00
+ hours
320,000,000,000
320B
7,000,000
7M
2,356
2:00
+ hours
116,000,000,000
116B
2,000,000
2M
689
3:00
+ hours
51,000,000,000
51B
700,000
700K
307
All data for >1,000 travelers/day, 50-265 miles
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The heart of the market
Direct Aviation means flying from where people are to where they want to go. It enables people to avoid long drives or connections at crowded airport hubs.
Direct Aviation is an alternative to the hub-and-spoke system of air travel, where routes are based on access points, not airports, picking people up where they are and taking them to where they want to be.
Direct Aviation will create a dramatically better travel experience—one that reduces friction, expands access, and slashed the time it takes to get to the destination.
This is where the market is dense, the pain is acute, and the value proposition is clearest.
Estimated person-miles per year across all routes
Daily passenger trips
Routes with 1,000+ travelers per day
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See the current regional snapshot
Direct Aviation becomes real when the Rule of Six is satisfied so service is commerically viable and community compatible.
Access
Quiet
Payload
Range
Safety
Affordability
Aircraft Required
for minimum of 24 passengers per day
across 4,300 routes
Aircraft Required
for minimum of 12 passengers per day
across 9,000 routes
Flying to your next destination...
The opportunity is national in scope, but particularly strong in regions where population density, traffic congestion, and fragmented access combine to create major travel friction.
See the Opportunity in Priority Geographies Within the United States.
Electra’s EL9: a nine-passenger, hybrid-electric airplane capable of taking off and landing in just 150 feet.
Purpose-built to keep the promise of Direct Aviation.
passengers
1 pilot + 2,700 lbs. payload
max range (+45 min reserve)
175 KTAS max cruise speed
ft nominal takeoff + landing roll
dBA on takeoff (300 ft)
Similar to urban background
dBA on takeoff (300 ft)
Similar to urban background
passengers
1 pilot + 2,700 lbs. payload
ft nominal takeoff + landing roll
max range (+45 min reserve)
175 KTAS max cruise speed
Expanding operational possibilities
Add novel access points
Helicopter-like convenience
Maximize GA aiports
Good neighbor policy
Feed large airport hubs
Congestion-free integration
Expanding access points
Pier-Based Ultra Short Access Point Plans
Rooftop Ultra Short Access Point in Urban Setting
Remote Ultra Short Access Point
Noise-Sensitive Airports, Such as Santa Monica
Elevated Ultra Short Access Point
Redevelopment of Suburban Municipal Airports
Intercity Connectors
Direct from urban center to urban center, avoiding slow ground routes and busy airport hubs.
DC Area
NYC
Drive
Time Savings
3h 30m
Daily Trips
18,000
Commercial Air
Time Savings
2h 40m
Daily Trips
5,174
NYC
Boston
Drive
Time Savings
1h 45m
Daily Trips
17,200
Commercial Air
Time Savings
2h 45m
Daily Trips
6,490
Austin
Houston
Drive
Time Savings
2h 00m
Daily Trips
13,690
Commercial Air
Time Savings
3h 10m
Daily Trips
2,352
Orlando
Miami
Drive
Time Savings
2h 30m
Daily Trips
9,800
Commercial Air
Time Savings
3h 00m
Daily Trips
3,018
Memphis
Nashville
Drive
Time Savings
1h 40m
Daily Trips
9,350
Commercial Air
Time Savings
2h 20m
Daily Trips
144
DTLA / Pasadena
San Diego
Drive
Time Savings
1h 30m
Daily Trips
14,375
Commercial Air
Time Savings
3h 20m
Daily Trips
691
Austin
Dallas
Drive
Time Savings
2h 15m
Daily Trips
6,000
Commercial Air
Time Savings
3h 00m
Daily Trips
4,500
Leisure Launchpads
Links travelers directly to vacation destinations without long drives or multiple transfers.
Long Beach / South LA
Las Vegas
Drive
Time Savings
3h 20m
Daily Trips
12,650
Commercial Air
Time Savings
3h, 20m
Daily Trips
10,825
Miami
Key West
Drive
Time Savings
2h 30m
Daily Trips
2,500
Commercial Air
Time Savings
2h 20m
Daily Trips
552
Portland
Bend
Drive
Time Savings
2h 20m
Daily Trips
12,000
Commercial Air
Time Savings
2h 10m
Daily Trips
182
NYC
Atlantic City / Ocean City*
Drive
Time Savings
1h 15m
Daily Trips
10,000
Commercial Air
Time Savings
N/A
Daily Trips
N/A
Bay Area
Lake Tahoe
Drive
Time Savings
3h 00m
Daily Trips
5,500
Commercial Air
Time Savings
2h 30m
Daily Trips
1,090
DC Area
Snowshoe Mountain*
Drive
Time Savings
3h 00m
Daily Trips
Commercial Air
Time Savings
N/A
Daily Trips
N/A
*No direct commercial air service
Airport Feeders
Connects travelers and their luggage from rural areas, distant suburbs, and smaller cities to major hubs without adding to congestion.
Jacksonville
Orlando Airport*
Drive
Time Savings
1h 30m
Daily Trips
6,100
Commercial Air
Time Savings
N/A
Daily Trips
N/A
Norfolk
DC Reagan Airport
Drive
Time Savings
2h 40m
Daily Trips
9,625
Commercial Air
Time Savings
3h 10m
Daily Trips
1,926
Portland
Seattle-Tacoma Airport
Drive
Time Savings
1h 35m
Daily Trips
13,000
Commercial Air
Time Savings
2h 30m
Daily Trips
2,770
Colorado Springs
Denver Airport
Drive
Time Savings
1h 40m
Daily Trips
9,400
Commercial Air
Time Savings
2h 50m
Daily Trips
1,873
Fresno
San Jose Mineta Airport*
Drive
Time Savings
1h 45m
Daily Trips
6,300
Commercial Air
Time Savings
N/A
Daily Trips
N/A
Cincinnati
Indianapolis Airport
Drive
Time Savings
1h 10m
Daily Trips
5,500
Commercial Air
Time Savings
N/A
Daily Trips
N/A
*No direct commercial air service
Small Community Services
Extends connectivity to places with geographic barriers or limited transportation options.
Blacksburg, VA
Washington, D.C. Area*
Drive
Time Savings
2h 40m
Daily Trips
1,850
Commercial Air
Time Savings
N/A
Daily Trips
N/A
Mendocino, CA
Sacramento*
Drive
Time Savings
2h 50m
Daily Trips
850
Commercial Air
Time Savings
N/A
Daily Trips
N/A
Akron, OH
Detroit*
Drive
Time Savings
2h 30m
Daily Trips
1,000
Commercial Air
Time Savings
N/A
Daily Trips
N/A
State College, PA
Philadelphia
Drive
Time Savings
2h 40m
Daily Trips
2,400
Commercial Air
Time Savings
2h 30m
Daily Trips
278
Jefferson City, MO
St. Louis, MO*
Drive
Time Savings
1h 20m
Daily Trips
1,500
Commercial Air
Time Savings
N/A
Daily Trips
N/A
Morgantown, WV
Charleston, WV*
Drive
Time Savings
1h 30m
Daily Trips
1,200
Commercial Air
Time Savings
N/A
Daily Trips
N/A
Burlington, VT
Boston, MA*
Drive
Time Savings
2h 00m
Daily Trips
2,200
Commercial Air
Time Savings
N/A
Daily Trips
N/A
*No direct commercial air service
DC Area
NYC
NYC
Boston
Austin
Houston
Orlando
Miami
Memphis
Nashville
DTLA / Pasadena
San Diego
Austin
Dallas
Long Beach / South LA
Las Vegas
Miami
Key West
Portland
Bend
NYC
Atlantic City / Ocean City*
Bay Area
Lake Tahoe
DC Area
Snowshoe Mountain*
*No direct commercial air service
Jacksonville
Orlando Airport*
Norfolk
DC Reagan Airport
Portland
Seattle-Tacoma Airport
Colorado Springs
Denver Airport
Fresno
San Jose Mineta Airport*
Cincinnati
Indianapolis Airport
*No direct commercial air service
Blacksburg, VA
Washington, D.C. Area*
Mendocino, CA
Sacramento*
Akron, OH
Detroit*
State College, PA
Philadelphia
Jefferson City, MO
St. Louis, MO*
Morgantown, WV
Charleston, WV*
Burlington, VT
Boston, MA*
*No direct commercial air service
The demand for better regional mobility already exists. What has been missing is a practical way to serve it.
The Direct Aviation Market Outlook shows the scale of that opportunity — and why a new model of air travel is now within reach.
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