Vertical take-off and landing air transport to provide tourist mobility

This paper examines helicopter transfer services to reach attractive and not very accessible tourist areas, taking Sicily and its minor islands, in the South of Italy, as a case study. We investigate the viability of helicopter scheduled services for tourists moving from/to airports or doing one day tours to visit far away places. The mode choice of tourists is simulated using random utility models employing stated preference data. Heli-shuttle service is planned in terms of fleet size, frequency, fare and location pattern of heliports. The paper also analyses how a public subsidy reducing fares might change the set of feasible connections.

► Helicopters capture a market share of 5–20% of tourist travel.
► Heli-shuttle services are profitable for short flights of 50–100 km and 30–40 users a day.
► Helicopter links from/to the major regional airports attract up to 200–400 users a day.