New Frontiers in Passenger Experience: Where is the Passenger in the Urban Air Mobility Ecosystem?

Two years ago, I stood on stage at the Aviation Americas Festival in Miami and asked a provocative question: What if the future of aviation isn’t just about aircraft, but about experience? At the time, urban air mobility, including electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOL), was still considered somewhat speculative. If you were in our Aviation Americas audience, you may remember the Jetsons cartoon I included in the presentation! Our audience was intrigued, but the future aviation experience still felt far away.

Fast forward to today, and the landscape has shifted dramatically. In the past year alone, Saudi Arabia announced plans to commercialize eVTOLs as part of its urban mobility revolution. In the US, companies like Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation secured key FAA certifications, and a White House executive order fast-tracked pilot training for advanced air mobility (AAM) platforms. The FAA’s new powered-lift aircraft category marks the first major regulatory shift since the introduction of helicopters in the 1940s. As we address in our upcoming panel at Infraday East later this month with our eVTOL and infrastructure colleagues, vertiport stakeholders and infrastructure experts, the eVTOL moment is now.

While the aircraft, infrastructure, and regulations are accelerating, a critical question remains. Who owns the passenger experience of urban air mobility?

Urban Air Mobility Brings New Layer of Complexity

As a customer experience designer and passionate aviator, along with my team, I have spent years helping airports and airlines design seamless, intuitive, emotionally resonant journeys. Understanding the degree of complexity necessary to support seamless journeys, one thing we see in the current moment is too few stakeholders recognizing the ways in which the introduction of eVTOLs will add a layers of complexity to an already fragmented system.

The air travel of today is often marked by broken journey points. Think disjointed handoffs between booking platforms, airlines, airport security, and ground transportation. According to the 2025 J.D. Power Airline Satisfaction Study, passenger satisfaction has improved slightly, but economic headwinds and rising fees continue to erode trust. So much so that nearly 60% of travelers report frustration with inconsistent service across the journey.

Enter eVTOLS. In this already challenging environment, who coordinates the handoff from your Uber to the vertiport? Who ensures your digital identity transfers seamlessly from your airline to your eVTOL operator? What player in the ecosystem is responsible for your bags? And who owns the delay notification (and issues resolution) when weather grounds your aerial ride?

The Players in the Ecosystem

The emerging Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) ecosystem is comprised of multiple players, each with distinct roles and priorities. These include vehicle manufacturers, vertiport developers, airport authorities, and even digital platform providers.

Vehicle manufacturers like Joby and Archer focus on aircraft design, certification, and performance. Vertiport developers, including Skyports and VertiPorts by Atlantic, are building the physical infrastructure for takeoff and landing. Inevitably, local airport authorities will host eVTOL routes, integrating them into existing terminals and transit systems. And, if done right, leveraging their existing real estate in major cities like New York, to accelerate eVTOL ridership and bring in revenue. Digital platform providers, recognizing the technology-first aspect of future air travel, will likely emerge to coordinate booking, identity, and multimodal connections.

But without a unified experience owner, passengers risk navigating a maze of disconnected touchpoints. The AAM ecosystem, as defined by the FAA, includes aircraft, infrastructure, airspace integration, and community engagement. What the FAA has yet to define, and what remains absent from many future-focused eVTOL conversations, is who is the orchestrator of the end-to-end journey.

Designing for the Passenger of the Future

Passenger expectations are evolving rapidly. The “digital native” is real. And, in our current experience economy, we are all competing against the last best experience our consumer had, regardless of provider or sector. According to SITA’s 2025 Passenger IT Insights Report, 79% of travelers are prepared to use digital identities and mobile travel wallets. Nearly 90% are willing to pay more for sustainable travel options. And more than 6 out of 10 prefer digital checkpoints and biometric scanning.

This is more than a cultural shift toward technology savviness. It is a demonstrable shift in mindset. Informed by their relationship with technology and the quality of their last best experience, the passenger of the future (who is our new passenger), expects travel to be frictionless, personalized, and meaningful. They expect transparency, control, and emotional connection. And, increasingly, they do not tolerate broken experiences.

For urban air mobility, in particular, to succeed, we must design with these expectations in the forefront of our mind. So, what does that look like?

• Persona-driven journey mapping to understand the needs of business travelers, tourists, commuters, and mobility-challenged passengers.
• Integrated communications platforms that unify alerts, updates, and service recovery across operators.
• Experience standards and style guides that ensure consistency in tone, signage, and digital interfaces.
• Training programs for frontline staff and digital agents to deliver empathetic, informed service.

The Risk of Fragmentation

Without a central experience owner, we risk repeating the mistakes of traditional aviation. Each player may build their own interface, set their own rules, and create their own brand voice. Too often, that results in fragmented journeys that leave passengers confused, frustrated, and disengaged.

We have seen this before. In the early days of rideshare, passengers had to juggle multiple apps, payment systems, and service levels. However, when platforms like Uber and Lyft began to lead the market, they standardized the experience and passenger adoption soared. Similarly, eVTOL needs its own experience integrator that puts the passenger first.

Owning the Experience

As transportation experience designers, we have a unique opportunity to shape this future. Not merely by advising on aircraft interiors or vertiport signage, but by asking deeper questions. Questions like: What does trust look like in the sky? How do we design for accessibility, sustainability, and emotional connection? And, importantly, Who advocates for the passenger when things go wrong (when the experience breaks)?

As much as the answers to these questions create simplicity for the customer, the answers themselves are not simple. To achieve them, we need to embrace collaboration, future-first thinking, and a relentless focus on the human journey.

Next Steps for Centering the Passenger in the eVTOL Ecosystem

The first step is to recognize the future is now. Lift offs in the US are projected for 2026. Los Angeles, California, has already named an eVTOL partner for the 2028 Summer Olympics. The aircraft are ready. The infrastructure is positioning to meet the moment. And regulations are catching up.

But that essential question must be answered: is the experience ready? Because in the end, like all aviation experience, it is about more than flying. It is about how we feel when we fly. And like all transportation experience, it is about how we get where we are going and how to feel seen, heard, and cared for at every stage of the journey.

For more on designing your seamless transportation experiences, contact us.