A National Strategy for Advanced Air Mobility

Summary

Bloomberg Businessweek Podcast Summary

Episode: A National Strategy for Advanced Air Mobility
Date: December 24, 2025
Hosts: Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec
Guest: Lisa Wright, Founder and CEO of Landings

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec discuss the emerging sector of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), focusing on the national strategy for deploying electric vertical takeoff and landing (EVTOL) aircraft. They are joined by Lisa Wright, Founder and CEO of Landings, a company developing a network of landing and ground operations (vertiports) for EVTOLs, to talk about regulatory challenges, infrastructure hurdles, energy requirements, business models, and the overall vision for AAM in the U.S.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Global Regulatory Landscape

• China and Middle East Lead Adoption

  • China is already carrying passengers with EVTOLs.
  • The Middle East is expected to follow, with the U.S. trailing but catching up.
  • Quote: “The first passenger carrying EVTOLs will happen in the Middle East. It won't happen here in the US. Is that still the case?” —Host (03:40)
  • Response: “That is still the case. I mean, they are carrying passengers in China, but the Middle East will be next. And then the US is coming pretty close behind.” —Lisa Wright (03:52)

• U.S. Regulatory Progress

  • The FAA has streamlined certification and created new pilot training for EVTOLs.
  • U.S. is not at a regulatory disadvantage; the pace is improving.
  • Quote: “The FAA has been working very hard...They've streamlined and done a lot of fast tracking and changed the training for pilots...” —Lisa Wright (04:06)

• Infrastructure Excitement Abroad

  • Dubai and UAE prioritized infrastructure, giving them a head start over the U.S.

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2. Infrastructure Challenges and Solutions

• Energy is the Bottleneck

  • Access to sufficient energy is the main challenge, more so than land acquisition.
  • Competing quietly with data centers for energy in key areas.
  • Landings employs specialists to navigate utilities and energy financing.
  • Quote: “Charging is our number one issue really. Finding land is great, we can do that. But getting the energy out...there's a lot of attention being paid to EV networks right now that aren't necessarily succeeding.” —Lisa Wright (04:53)

• Alternative Energy Options

  • Off-grid, solar-powered vertiports are feasible—1–2 megawatts per site via 5–10 acres of solar panels.
  • Battery systems can support peak demand for charging EVTOLs, especially in sunny regions.
  • Quote: “Absolutely. So we use about 1 or 2 megawatts of energy and you can get that from 5 to 10 acres of solar...store it with the battery and then we can exactly use it for the peak when or the demand when they land and need it.” —Lisa Wright (05:50)
  • Grid connection will still be in place in most locations.

• Vertiport Scale and Cost

  • Landings is building a practical, micro-vertiport network to avoid massive costs.
  • The plan: 2,000 vertiports covering diverse uses (agriculture, entertainment, casinos, airports, medical response).
  • Most vertiports will be small (about 1.5 acres) and not all will have charging, but the network will be dense enough to ensure landing/charging within 30 minutes from any point.
  • Quote: “A lot of the vertiports that you see right now, they're very fancy. I call them Zaha Hadid buildings...We're going to not make them cost a lot of money.” —Lisa Wright (06:29)

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3. Air Traffic Control & Airspace Management

• Existing air traffic control (ATC) systems are overwhelmed; EVTOLs will mostly fly at different altitudes using new communications tech.
• Nonprofit NewAir in Syracuse is developing a separate traffic management system for EVTOLs and drones, focusing on 1,000 miles of dedicated airspace in New York.
• In rural areas, collision/conflict risk is minimal; in controlled airport zones, standard communication protocols apply.
• Quote: “Because of the altitude that these craft fly in...they do not have to use the existing air traffic control systems. There's a company, a nonprofit in Syracuse called NewAir that is working on having all the demand for the airspace for heavy drones and EVTOLs.” —Lisa Wright (07:46)

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4. Business Model and Real Estate Partnerships

• Landings utilizes options contracts rather than outright property acquisition or traditional leasing, akin to the cell tower model.
• The company covers feasibility, engineering, construction, and equipment financing, then shares revenue with property owners.
• Quote: “We're getting an option. It's much like a cell tower...once we're operating, then we'll share the revenue with them.” —Lisa Wright (09:02)

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5. Shifting Industry Focus & Near-Term Outlook

• The biggest industry change in the past month: a shift from single vertiport projects to interconnected network thinking.

• Networks are essential for EVTOL market scalability and utility.

• Quote: “The biggest change in the last month? Everybody stopped focusing on individual vertiport. Yeah. Started talking about the network, which is really key for especially EVTOLs...you have to have a lot of locations.” —Lisa Wright (09:30)

• Vision for the Next Five Years

  • Lisa Wright predicts most people will have tried an EVTOL flight within five years.
  • Quote: “What's the vision five years from now? I believe everybody would have at least tried one.” —Lisa Wright (10:08)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• (03:52) Lisa Wright:
  “They are carrying passengers in China, but the Middle east will be next. And then the US Is coming pretty close behind.”

• (04:53) Lisa Wright:
  “Charging is our number one issue really. Finding land is great, we can do that. But getting the energy out.”

• (06:29) Lisa Wright:
  “A lot of the vertiports that you see right now, they're very fancy. I call them Zaha Hadid buildings...We're going to not make them cost a lot of money...They're about, you know, an acre and a half is the minimum space we need.”

• (07:46) Lisa Wright:
  “Because of the altitude that these craft fly in...they do not have to use the existing air traffic control systems.”

• (09:30) Lisa Wright:
  “Everybody stopped focusing on individual vertiport. Yeah. Started talking about the network, which is really key for especially EVTOLs...you have to have a lot of locations.”

• (10:08) Lisa Wright:
  “What's the vision five years from now? I believe everybody would have at least tried one.”

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Timestamps of Key Segments

• 03:03 – China and Middle East lead in EVTOLs; U.S. regulatory catch-up
• 04:06–04:53 – FAA’s role and infrastructure as prime challenge
• 05:38–06:15 – Renewable, off-grid vertiport energy potential
• 06:29–07:25 – Vertiport business model, scaling, and use cases
• 07:25–08:58 – Air traffic management and airspace challenges
• 09:02–09:25 – Real estate agreements for vertiports
• 09:30–10:08 – Industry shift to network focus, outlook for next five years

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Conclusion

This episode provides a comprehensive look at the future of advanced air mobility in the U.S., emphasizing the imperative for robust infrastructure, the evolution of airspace management, and scalable business partnerships. Lisa Wright’s optimism about rapid public adoption of EVTOLs contrasts with current regulatory and practical hurdles, but points to a near future where flying taxis could become a routine option for many Americans.

Transcript

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Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts Radio News.

[Public.com Disclosures / LifeLock Advertiser]

You're listening to Bloomberg Businessweek with Carol Massar and Tim stanovec on Bloomberg Radio.

[Bloomberg Host (Male)]

The China focused business news site. Kaishin today reporting that was actually this week yesterday that China has unveiled draft rules to speed up certification of evtol aircraft. We're talking about electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. You haven't been on one yet?

[Lisa Wright, Founder and CEO of Landings]

Not yet, yeah.

[Bloomberg Host (Male)]

No, neither have I. The story goes on to note though, the regulatory competition with the U.S. citing industry executives. For more, we're joined once again by Lisa Wright. She's founder and CEO of Landings. It's a company that says it's building a landing and ground operations network of vertiports for EVTOLs. She joins us here in the Bloomberg Interactive Brokers studio. Welcome back.

[Lisa Wright, Founder and CEO of Landings]

Thank you for having me back.

[Bloomberg Host (Male)]

The regulatory landscape is a really important part of this. And I think last time you're on with us, you said that the first passenger carrying EVTOLs will happen in the Middle East. It won't happen here in the US Is that still the case?

[Lisa Wright, Founder and CEO of Landings]

That is still the case. I mean, they are carrying passengers in China, but the Middle east will be next. And then the US Is coming pretty close behind.

[Bloomberg Host (Male)]

Is it a disadvantage in terms of the regulatory environment here versus other countries?

[Lisa Wright, Founder and CEO of Landings]

No. The FAA has been working very hard actually. They've streamlined and done a lot of fast tracking and changed the training for pilots because there's going to be new pilot training, et cetera. So I don't think the regulations in the air are has been an issue. It's just, you know, in Dubai and the UAE they were more excited about building the infrastructure first. So I'm very much about the infrastructure. So that's what we're trying to build.

[Bloomberg Host (Female)]

Well, let's talk about that because when we talk about electric vehicles, we just did a story this week about kind of how things are sliding backwards. And I think initially, early on, Lisa, so much of it was the infrastructure wasn't there the charging networks and it created anxiety among the consumers. So talk to us about the infrastructure buildout. Where you guys are, this process and what are some of the hurdles?

[Lisa Wright, Founder and CEO of Landings]

Yeah, no, there's definitely a lot of hurdles. Number one is energy. So getting access to energy is hard. We are not really competing with data centers, but data centers are looking for energy in areas that we're looking for energy as well. So what we're doing is we have two people on the team who are specifically looking at energy, getting the equipment financed and working with utilities, but also providing battery backup and energy systems in front of the meter in order to take up the slack for the charging. So charging Is our number one issue really. Finding land is great, we can do that. But getting the energy out. And to your point, there's a lot of attention being paid to EV networks right now that aren't necessarily succeeding.

[Bloomberg Host (Male)]

Do you actually have to be connected to the grid in order to charge? Could you create a sort of self contained, off the grid landing area that uses renewable energy?

[Lisa Wright, Founder and CEO of Landings]

Absolutely. So we use about 1 or 2 megawatts watts of energy and you can get that from 5 to 10 acres of solar. Okay, so there is a way that we could do with solar and then store it. Exactly, store it with the battery and then we can exactly use it for the peak when or the demand when they land and need it.

[Bloomberg Host (Female)]

But you can't just rely on that alone or can you?

[Lisa Wright, Founder and CEO of Landings]

We could do that. I mean there's still a grid connection to most places.

[Bloomberg Host (Male)]

Maybe in Arizona or. Yeah, you know, I don't know, parts of California.

[Lisa Wright, Founder and CEO of Landings]

Yeah, yeah.

[Bloomberg Host (Female)]

So how do you see kind of this building out and what's the cost involved? Like how do you do it? Is it public, private partner? Like how does it all get done?

[Lisa Wright, Founder and CEO of Landings]

Yeah, so the first network of 12 that we have in upstate New York is a mix of different use cases. So we have agriculture, we have entertainment and casino, we have existing airports. We also have some private, public private partnerships going on with communities for like medical purposes and first responders. So there's a whole range of uses. Now a lot of the vertiports that you see right now, they're very fancy. I call them Zaha Hadid buildings. Right. Like they're amazing and futuristic and they cost a lot of money. Yeah, we're going to build 2,000 of these. So we're going to not make them cost a lot of money. And how we're going to do that is because they're mini, they're very small, they're micro, they're about, you know, an acre and a half is the minimum space we need. And we're going to put so many of them out there, we're going to put 2000. Not all of them will have charging, but by having such a dense network, we'll be able to guarantee landing spaces and charging within 30 minutes of any spot you are.

[Bloomberg Host (Male)]

So I think about air traffic control in a situation such as this. And we spent a lot of time over the past few years talking about shortages of air traffic controllers. If we're sending more vehicles into the air, there's more of a need for air traffic controllers. How does that factor into the estimate for how these Things are going to be filling the skies.

[Lisa Wright, Founder and CEO of Landings]

Yeah. No, air traffic control is really overwhelmed right now with traditional flight. But because of the altitude that these craft fly in, it's a different altitude and it's different wavelength for communications. So they do not have to use the existing air traffic control systems. There's a company, a non profit in Syracuse called Newair that is working on having all the demand for the airspace for heavy drones and EVTOLs. So it's going to be a completely different airspace.

[Bloomberg Host (Female)]

Right. But you still have to have some coordination, don't you? Because eventually even those that are flying much higher have to come down.

[Lisa Wright, Founder and CEO of Landings]

Absolutely, absolutely. And when they are near airports or towered airports, they still have to communicate with the tower and air traffic control like normal mine. Because my locations are mostly rural, very remote, they're not having the same conflict. They're in general airspace. But also the, the reason, one of the reasons that we chose the Mohawk Valley, upstate New York is because this company, NewAir, has 1,000 miles of airspace that they're already working in. So there's drones and all kinds of different things flying there already.

[Bloomberg Host (Male)]

The real estate agreements that you have in place, what do they look like?

[Lisa Wright, Founder and CEO of Landings]

So we do two different types of real estate agreements, but what we're pushing for right now is just options. So we're not leasing and we're not buying the property. We're getting an option. It's much like a cell tower. So in essence, we will take on then the feasibility studies, the engineering, the build. We'll finance the equipment for the owner, and once we're operating, then we'll share the revenue with them.

[Bloomberg Host (Female)]

So it's been how much? A month or so since we've talked.

[Lisa Wright, Founder and CEO of Landings]

Yeah.

[Bloomberg Host (Female)]

What's the biggest change in that timeframe?

[Lisa Wright, Founder and CEO of Landings]

The biggest change in the last month? There's been two, but one is that everybody stopped focusing on individual vertiport. Yeah. Started talking about the network, which is really key for especially EVTOLs.

[Public.com Disclosures / LifeLock Advertiser]

Right.

[Lisa Wright, Founder and CEO of Landings]

Is you can't just go from two points. It gets a little boring. Right. You have to have a lot of locations.

[Bloomberg Host (Male)]

I need one that goes from home. In Brooklyn, 731 Lexington Avenue. Okay. In midtown Manhattan, you know, just South Brooklyn a little bit.

[Lisa Wright, Founder and CEO of Landings]

Yeah.

[Bloomberg Host (Male)]

Maybe.

[Lisa Wright, Founder and CEO of Landings]

Yeah.

[Bloomberg Host (Female)]

You know, I mean, what do you envision that? Like we just got oohed like 15 seconds. What's the view, you think?

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[Bloomberg Host (Female)]

Is it five years, ten years?

[Lisa Wright, Founder and CEO of Landings]

What's the vision five years from now? I believe everybody would have at least tried one.

[Bloomberg Host (Male)]

Wow. Okay.

[Bloomberg Host (Female)]

That's pretty cool.

[Bloomberg Host (Male)]

That's very cool.

[Bloomberg Host (Female)]

So first Waymo sooner than I thought and then this.

[Bloomberg Host (Male)]

Yeah, this has people.

[Bloomberg Host (Female)]

This has people feel a little bit better.

[Bloomberg Host (Male)]

Yeah, I do close my eyes in a Waymo Lisa Wright, founder and CEO of Landings, joining us here in the Bloomberg Interactive Broker Studio.

[Vertex Pharmaceuticals Host]

When patients have a disease and the cause is known, it usually ends up needing a specific solution. On the podcast targeting the toughest diseases, we explore the innovative tools, methods and unique philosophy Vertex Pharmaceuticals is using to search for treatments for some of humanity's most challenging diseases. Subscribe today wherever you listen to podcasts.

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[Public.com Disclosures / LifeLock Advertiser]

Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures [e-mail] disclosures these days it.

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