Comparative Cost and Capacity Estimates of Vertiports and Airports, 1975-1985

Abstract

This paper compares the estimated passengers' costs associated with the use of vertiports and new airports, excluding costs associated with the air vehicles themselves. Vertiports near central business districts (CBD's) require less but higher-priced real estate than do new airports in urban fringe areas. The comparisons are based on typical peak-hour handling requirements and on annual costs determined by adding operating costs and reduced capital costs, using a 10% interest rate and an appropriate useful life for each capital cost element. For the cities studied (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Seattle, and Charlotte, N.C.), new vertiports would be cheaper than new airports providing services for equal numbers of passengers. The cost advantage of a vertiport generally increases as city size increases and as the vertiport is moved out one mile or so from the CBD. This advantage varies from $0.5 per passenger per terminal (for Charlotte) to $19 (for New York), at 1 mile from the CBD. Major known omissions from the study are the effects on costs due to air pollution, noise, clear zones, and special low-altitude in-city air traffic procedures that might be required.