Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Osaka-based SkyScape has made a major stride towards realization of its ambition to become a leader in the emerging Japanese vertiport industry, pulling in exclusive contracts with two foreign firms it believes will help it establish a strong foundation in the Japanese market.
“We would love to have a SkyScape network of locations; to be able to offer benefits within that network to the actual facility owners and the communities in which these facilities are based,” explains SkyScape Founder and President Asa Quesenberry in an exclusive interview with Akihabara News.
SkyScape is now describing itself as a “vertiport development and management company” to emphasize that it will not have a one-size-fits-all facility design or business model, but rather will respond flexibly to accommodate a variety of specific circumstances, as well as to take advantage of changes in the market.
Quesenberry anticipates that once the first commercial vertiports are built–presumably around 2025–they will initially operate at a loss. However, that is expected to change later in the decade as eVTOL traffic expands and air taxis become more popular.
Netherlands-based Bayards Vertiport Solutions is part of the Bayards Group, bringing in a company with over sixty years of experience and a large portfolio in aviation facility development. This helps add heft to the initiative, which previously involved only the small Japanese startup.
This alliance also makes clear that early generations of SkyScape vertiports will use aluminum as their primary construction material.
“Aluminum makes sense for us,” explains Quesenberry. “They need to be mobile; they need to be lightweight; they need to be strong. Aluminum does all of those things.”
The other new partner is Cincinnati-based SafeHub Systems, which is developing a high-technology check-in and screening system.
“We wanted a really smooth and innovative approach to the passenger check-in experience at our vertiport facilities,” Quesenberry notes. This will involve creating a seamless process for the prospective eVTOL passengers to be weighed and scanned before they board the aircraft.
As has been the case since the outset, “modularity” remains a key organizing principle for SkyScape’s vision, and this will manifest in physical form with several modules being grouped together to form each individual vertiport.
Exactly which modules will appear at a given facility will depend on local needs and agreements with the owners and operators. The potential variety and sophistication of these modules is likely to grow over time in concert with the growth of the overall industry.
“We’ve got it boiled down to about ten to twelve different use cases you can imagine for a vertiport facility,” Quesenberry reveals.
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