Advanced Air Mobility: Feasibility Assessment for Metropolitan Logistics and Commuting

This thesis explores the potential of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for package delivery and commuting, assessing the operational feasibility, economic viability, and environmental impact of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) systems. The first study examines eVTOL-based package delivery through a two-leg system design developed as a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model to optimize vertiport location selection, zone assignments, and eVTOL flight dispatching decisions. Applying the model to the Chicago metropolitan region, we assess the cost, energy consumption, and CO$_2$ emissions associated with eVTOL delivery compared to a ground-based delivery system, highlighting the significant impact of vehicle and system parameter choices on delivery efficiency. Policy recommendations are provided to support the adoption of eVTOL-based delivery solutions. The second study assesses AAM for commuter transport between a suburban and central business district. A Service Network Design Problem (SNDP) is developed by incorporating a time-expanded network framework to optimize AAM operations, including in-service flights, eVTOL relocations, charging, holding, and vertiport capacity constraints while considering passenger time windows. This study models the complete commuter journey, from first- to last-mile connections, and applies the optimization model to the Chicago metropolitan region using commuter demand data from the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES) dataset. Feasibility is analyzed against auto commuting, focusing on daily operating costs, travel time savings, energy use, and CO$_2$ emissions. Key system parameters, operational constraints, and vehicle choices impact cost-effectiveness and environmental outcomes, offering insights into policy measures to support early AAM adoption in metropolitan regions.