Kamal Acharya

Ph.D. Candidate at UMBC, AI Researcher

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Conference Paper

Regional Air Mobility Flight Demand Modeling in Tennessee State

2025 AIAA SCITECH 2025 Forum DOI: 10.2514/6.2025-2783

Regional Air Mobility Demand Modeling Advanced Air Mobility

DOI Cite

Abstract

This paper models Regional Air Mobility demand in Tennessee by comparing cost, time, and risk across ground transportation, traditional air travel, and RAM options. It evaluates metropolitan statistical areas, computes generalized travel cost, and shows that RAM becomes more competitive for longer medium-distance trips and when regional airport networks are expanded beyond a small set of major hubs.

Plain-Language Summary

The paper studies when RAM flights could become a practical alternative to driving or commercial air travel for medium-distance trips in Tennessee.

Why This Paper Matters

This work helps explain where regional air mobility could improve connectivity for underserved medium-distance trips.

Research Summary

This paper studies Regional Air Mobility demand for medium-distance travel in Tennessee. These trips are often too long for convenient driving but may not be well served by traditional commercial air service, creating a potential role for RAM.

The study compares ground transportation, conventional air travel, and RAM using generalized travel cost. It considers cost, time, and risk factors across metropolitan statistical areas and evaluates how airport network design affects demand.

A key planning insight is that RAM becomes more competitive for longer trips and when the network includes more regional airports. This makes the paper useful for infrastructure planning and regional connectivity analysis.

Key Contributions

  • Builds a RAM demand modeling framework for Tennessee.
  • Uses cost, time, and risk regression to compare RAM with ground and conventional air travel.
  • Evaluates how hub selection and regional airport expansion affect competitiveness.
  • Identifies conditions where RAM is more likely to be selected.

Publication Details

Type
Conference Paper
Venue
AIAA SCITECH 2025 Forum
Year
2025

Authors

Acharya K., Lad M., Song H., Sun L.

Research Topics

Regional Air Mobility Demand Modeling Advanced Air Mobility

Citation

@inproceedings{acharya2025-regional-air-mobility-flight-demand-modeling-in-tennessee-state,
  title = {Regional Air Mobility Flight Demand Modeling in Tennessee State},
  author = {Acharya K. and Lad M. and Song H. and Sun L.},
  booktitle = {AIAA SCITECH 2025 Forum},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.2514/6.2025-2783}
}