Wortmann, LutzLutzWortmannÇakir, MertMertÇakirStumpf, EikeEikeStumpfBodmer, DanielDanielBodmer2024-09-112024-09-112024AIAA Aviation Forum and ASCEND (2024)9781624107160https://hdl.handle.net/11420/49030Due to the steady increase in mobility demands and the limited capacity of rail systems and roadways, regional on-demand air taxi services are becoming more attractive. The success of such an air transportation system depends not only on safety and costs, but also strongly on the availability. This paper presents the methods and results of a meteorological conditions and performance related availability analysis of fixed-wing air taxis with hybrid-and all-electric powertrains in real weather conditions on reference routes within Germany. High-resolution meteorological data is used to determine exogenous weather-related factors affecting flight operations, such as winds, visibility, cloud base and icing. Furthermore, the impact of insect contamination, which is increasing the drag, is investigated. Additionally, the effects of airport air- and landside procedures on the system availability are shown. Combing these aspects, a total availability is obtained. This availability can be optimized by adjusting the operational scenario (e.g. visual flight rules vs. instrument flight rules). The analysis shows that a availability up to 90% is realized when operating under instrument flight rules and both the departure and the arrival airport are certified for an operation under instrument flight rules. This is a significant increase as the availability under visual flight rules is in general below 50%. The ground procedures do not restrict the availability. Utilizing these results, a realistic evaluation of the commercial potential of the air taxi service is possible. Moreover, possible technical deficits can be derived as the availability is used as an additional parameter in the preliminary aircraft design.enSocial Sciences::380: Commerce, Communications, TransportTechnology::629: Other Branches::629.1: Aviation::629.13: Aviation EngineeringConference Paper10.2514/6.2024-3887Conference Paper