More Houston-area airports could eventually welcome flying taxis to create a new transportation network around the region.
Wisk Aero, a subsidiary of The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA), has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Houston Airport System to support strategic planning efforts and assess the feasibility of autonomous advanced air mobility, or AAM, operations at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) and Ellington Airport (EFD).
According to a copy of the agreement Houston Airports provided to the Houston Business Journal, Wisk will provide technical support for the needs of vertiports — airports for aircraft that land and take off vertically — as well as support for flight routes and potential site expansions at the airports. Meanwhile, the HAS will commit to incorporating autonomous AAM into strategic planning pathways, which include considerations for infrastructure developments, community noise levels and route development.
Jointly, both HAS and Wisk will bid on federal, state and local grants supporting AAM development in Houston and explore opportunities for training and maintenance facilities at HAS. The agreement will run for one year from May 23, when it was signed by the city of Houston.
HAS Aviation Director Jim Szczesniak told the HBJ that while the MOU was signed with Wisk, there are opportunities for other companies as well. Szczesniak said the airport had discussions with Archer Aviation, which has received a carrier certification from the Federal Aviation Administration.
“We've got to work with the FAA because we can't just throw these things up anywhere," Szczesniak said. "It's got to be in a place where it works with the existing air traffic patterns, so we've got to work with the FAA and the manufacturers to find out exactly where vehicles can work."
A company spokesperson told the HBJ that Wisk also is continuing to look at other airport opportunities in the region, such as the Conroe-North Houston Regional Airport, which is operated by Montgomery County. Wisk signed an agreement with the city of Sugar Land in February that will allow the Sugar Land Regional Airport host the company’s first infrastructure in the Houston area.
But the company is looking at more than airports. Wisk said that neighborhoods needing transportation to airports would also be considered.
“We’re not only looking at airports as nodes. We wish to service all areas important for people to get to and from,” the company said in an emailed statement. “As such, Downtown, Galleria, The Woodlands and the Energy Corridor are of great interest.”
Wisk estimates that building a 20-vertiport network could create more than 2,100 jobs, and the annual operation of that network would create more than 940 jobs. The company said it is beginning to engage with local workforce and education institutions about a talent pipeline in Houston.
Wisk is eyeing certification before the end of the decade, and Szczesniak said that if the company sets up shop in Houston, the airport system will assess its insurance as it does for every carrier.
Calculations for how much time will be saved by the flying taxis have not been run yet, but the idea of airborne travel between Houston’s airports is not a new one. Houston-based Continental Airlines, which was acquired by United Airlines (Nasdaq: UAL) over a decade ago, previously had a flight between Hobby and IAH.
“Houston's got a large population base and a large geographical area,” Szczesniak said. "This will allow folks that are a little bit further from the airport to be able to quickly get there and not have to worry about long drives and Houston traffic."
A 2022 study commissioned by NASA surveying residents of areas considered for vertiports found that for AAM to be considered feasible, the vertiport infrastructure should not be more than 20 minutes away from homes. Support for the taxis was strongest among suburban residents.
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