Simulating air taxi networks

The U.S. air transportation industry is about to experience the emergence of on-demand air taxi networks enabled by a new generation of very light jets (VLJs). These new networks are unique in many ways and the top down design approach of air taxi enterprises generates challenging and complex questions. Simulation was found to be an essential technique for understanding, analyzing and evaluating the complex behavior of air taxi networks. The air taxi network simulator is a fast-time simulator that replicates the operations of fleets of air taxi aircraft over a network of hundreds of airports. Its capabilities include demand modeling, trip generation, aircraft routing and pilot assignment, unscheduled maintenance events with recovery mechanisms, etc. It provides key performance metrics that enable decision makers to test and evaluate various strategic and tactical scenarios.