A study of NASA's vision for the future of air travel

Abstract

This paper presents results of a study that examined the premise that when considering the economic value of an individual's time, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Small Airplane Transportation System (SATS) concept will be seen as an economical transportation mode of choice for the private, US citizen. Unit costs of acquiring, owning, and operating SATS aircraft configurations were derived from previous research that examined SATS life cycle costs (LCC). Trip-by-trip comparisons were then made to comparable airline alternatives. The economic value of time was estimated in accordance with accepted accounting and human resource practices. NASA's premise was supported. Before considering the value of time, SATS aircraft were generally competitive with the airlines. After considering the value of time, SATS emerged unambiguously as not only the more economical mode of travel, but on virtually every one of 200 trips created, the margin of superiority was large. On the other hand, it was not clear as to which one of four SATS aircraft configurations was the best SATS choice.