9:3-3 - FAIR Volta - Speculative Prototyping for Electric Aviation

9. Luftfarten och samhället
Jeroen Peeters^{1, 2} , Carita Roslund^1
1 RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB, Umeå, Sweden
² Department of Industrial Design, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands

Introduction
The FAIR project seeks to support the early implementation of electric aviation in the Kvarken Region. The project examines the regional effects of electric aviation, technical requirements as well as innovative solutions that may contribute to early implementation.

This innovation process in FAIR is based on the Transforming Practices Framework (Hummels et al., 2019), a design-driven approach to multi-stakeholder innovation addressing societal challenges. We see practices as relative steady ways of living and working together (Wittgenstein, 1993), including the specific ways in which actions, norms and knowledge are configured (Freeman et al., 2011). To design new products, systems and services is one way to research how we might transform practices and work towards a more sustainable world.

FAIR Volta is a booking website for the imaginary airline Volta, specialised in regional electric air travel in the Kvarken region. Volta operates 10 seater electric airplanes and provides services between airports in and directly around the Kvarken region. Visiting the Volta website, you can book a trip in the Kvarken region using electric airplanes. Volta is designed different from how we are used to booking airplane tickets.

The key difference, is that Volta works with flexible times and prices. Planes can leave at any time, and the schedule will be based directly on the demand of passengers. This means that passengers select their preference as a time range where they indicate the earliest time they would want to travel, and the latest time. Passengers select this range for their amount of seats. In the background, existing bookings by others are visible. Volta aims to fly with full planes whenever possible, to reduce the amount of trips. This is why the pricing is also flexible. The larger the range of departure times selected by the booker, the bigger the chance this range can be aligned with other passengers. This is why two factors influence the price: the flexibility of the booker gives a discount, and filling a plane gives an extra discount. Of course, the final price will depend on what other bookings are made, and thus the price is shown as an estimate, with a minimum and maximum prices the booker can expect to pay). The final price and departure time will be set by the Volta algorithm 3 days before departure This system aims to stimulate passengers to adjust their travel plans to others. To reward flexibility in order to optimise the number of flights between the needs of all bookers.

Volta is currently being evaluated in workshops and dialogues with different stakeholders to get feedback and understand the implications this could have for the complex air travel network. For example:

• What are the implications of a flexible, on-demand and door-to-door electric aviation?
• How would a flexible schedule impact airport operations such as ground services but also restaurants, cafes and shops?
• Can the operations of an electric airline integrate sustainable thinking beyond replacing the drivetrain, for example by aiming to reduce the amount of flights to a minimum?