March 2026 brought the most significant structural changes to the AirIndex platform since launch. Scoring methodology v1.3 replaced the binary LAANC Coverage factor with a graduated Weather Infrastructure assessment and rebalanced factor weights to elevate State Legislation as the single highest-weighted factor (20 points). The result: no US market currently achieves a perfect 100 — Los Angeles and Dallas lead at 95, reflecting the reality that full weather infrastructure for eVTOL operations remains an industry-wide gap.
The month's biggest mover was San Francisco, surging from 40 to 75 (+35) after Joby Aviation's Electric Skies Tour brought a piloted eVTOL demonstration flight across San Francisco Bay — confirming active pilot program status and operator presence in a market previously scored on infrastructure alone.
Joby Aviation completed its acquisition of Blade Air Mobility, consolidating Blade's NYC heliport network, LA terminal operations, and Miami presence under Joby's brand. The operator count drops from five to four, but Joby's market footprint expands significantly — inheriting Blade's operational helicopter routes as future eVTOL conversion corridors.
On the data front, AirIndex ingested 5,647 FAA-registered heliports from the NASR 5010 database, mapping them to all 21 tracked metros. This new infrastructure intelligence layer surfaces existing helicopter infrastructure that represents potential vertiport conversion sites — a data point now visible on every city profile. The ingestion pipeline reached 1,797 total records across four data sources, with classifier accuracy at ~85% under prompt v6.
Effective March 24, 2026. The most significant scoring update since launch — rebalances factor weights and replaces the binary LAANC factor with a graduated Weather Infrastructure assessment.
Why this matters: v1.2 over-indexed on pilot programs and vertiports (40 of 100 points combined), making it possible for a market with no legislation to score HIGH. v1.3 makes legislation the single most important factor — reflecting the reality that without a legal framework, no amount of operator interest can produce commercial operations. No US market currently scores 100 because no market has full weather infrastructure for eVTOL operations yet.
Why Weather Infrastructure at 10 points? The USDOT AAM National Strategy documents weather as one of four infrastructure pillars alongside physical, energy, and spectrum. Weather remains the most uncertain and uncontrollable factor that will impact schedule reliability and operator dispatch rates, especially in built-up urban areas where confused winds will impact vertiport vehicle spacing and throughput. Better weather infrastructure will increase weather and wind certainty, contributing to a safer and more efficient airspace and vertiport ecosystem. States are a key enabler in closing the weather infrastructure gap.
Updated March 29, 2026
Two events drove score changes in March: the data integrity audit (March 7) and the v1.3 methodology update (March 24). Signal-driven changes from pipeline detections are shown separately.
| MARKET | PREVIOUS | CURRENT | CHANGE | SIGNAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | 40 | 75 | +35 | Joby Electric Skies Tour demo flight across SF Bay — pilot program + operator presence confirmed |
| Phoenix, AZ | 35 | 50 | +15 | Joby operator presence confirmed; AZ legislation actively moving |
| Houston, TX | 30 | 50 | +20 | FAA selects Texas air taxi networks for eIPP — pilot program activated |
| Austin, TX | 30 | 50 | +20 | FAA selects Texas air taxi networks for eIPP — pilot program activated |
| MARKET | PREVIOUS | CURRENT | CHANGE | REASON |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA | 100 | 95 | -5 | Weather Infrastructure 7/10 (basic) replaces LAANC 10/10 |
| Dallas, TX | 100 | 95 | -5 | Weather Infrastructure 7/10 (basic) replaces LAANC 10/10 |
| Orlando, FL | 85 | 80 | -5 | Weight rebalancing (Pilot 20→15, Legislation 10→20) |
| New York, NY | 70 | 55 | -15 | Legislation weight doubled (0 × 20 = 0); Pilot/Vertiport weights reduced |
New York’s -15 is the clearest validation of v1.3’s design thesis. Under v1.2, NY scored 70 despite having zero state legislation and zero vertiport zoning — two factors that are prerequisites for actual commercial operations. v1.3 correctly penalizes this gap. New York has the operators. It needs the policy.
All 21 tracked US markets, ranked by AirIndex Readiness Score (0–100). Scoring methodology v1.3 — 7 factors, max 100.
Average score: 41 • Full interactive index at airindex.io/dashboard
Joby Aviation brought its Electric Skies Tour to the Bay Area, completing a piloted eVTOL demonstration flight across San Francisco Bay. The flight confirmed active operator presence and pilot program status in a market that previously scored 40 (EARLY) based on California’s strong legislative framework alone. San Francisco jumps to 75, entering the ADVANCED tier and becoming the fifth market to clear the 75-point threshold. This validates the v1.3 methodology: legislation creates the foundation, but operator activity is what elevates a market.
Joby Aviation completed its acquisition of Blade Air Mobility (~$125M), consolidating Blade’s Manhattan Heliport operations, Los Angeles terminal network, and Miami helicopter routes under Joby’s brand. The operator count drops from five to four, but Joby’s geographic footprint expands significantly. Blade’s existing helicopter routes — particularly the NYC heliport-to-airport corridors — become natural eVTOL conversion pathways as Joby secures FAA type certification. AirIndex has consolidated all Blade market presence data under Joby across the platform.
The FAA selected Texas air taxi networks for the Advanced Air Mobility Enterprise Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), activating pilot program status for Houston and Austin. Both markets jump from 30 to 50, entering the MODERATE tier. Combined with Dallas (already at 95), Texas now has three markets in the top 10 — the strongest state-level concentration in the index. The eIPP selection covers multi-city operations across DFW, Houston, and Austin corridors.
AirIndex ingested 5,647 FAA-registered operational heliports from the NASR 5010 database, mapping each facility to its nearest tracked metro area. Los Angeles leads with 146 heliports, followed by Dallas (69), Houston (68), Phoenix (48), and Orlando (44). Heliport counts are now visible on every city profile as infrastructure intelligence — existing helicopter facilities represent the most likely near-term vertiport conversion sites. This data feeds into the upcoming infrastructure audit product and provides a quantitative foundation for the gap analysis engine.
Archer Aviation filed a countersuit against Joby Aviation, alleging that Joby defrauded the U.S. government by concealing its reliance on Chinese supply chain components. Joby’s response is pending. While this introduces operator-level risk, it also signals the competitive intensity of the market — both companies are fighting over first-mover advantage in a market they believe is imminent.
9 corridors tracked across 7 metro areas. 1 authorized, 8 proposed. No corridor status changes in March.
4 active operators tracked. Blade Air Mobility acquired by Joby Aviation — consolidated under Joby.
FAA Part 135 air carrier certification in progress. Joby S4 type certification advancing. Commercially operational in Dubai as of February 2026 via Uber Air integration — first commercial eVTOL revenue service globally. US commercial launch expected in LA or Dallas pending FAA type certificate. Acquired Blade Air Mobility in March, inheriting NYC Manhattan Heliport operations, LA terminal network, and Miami helicopter routes. Electric Skies Tour brought piloted demo flights to San Francisco Bay Area.
FAA Part 135 air carrier certification in progress. Midnight aircraft in flight test program. United Airlines partnership active with announced routes: MIA→FLL and O’Hare→Downtown Chicago. Active in Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, and New York markets. Manufacturing facility in San Jose operational. Filed countersuit against Joby alleging undisclosed China supply chain dependencies.
Autonomous eVTOL program — the only tracked operator pursuing fully autonomous operations from day one. Boeing-owned. Gen 6 aircraft completed test flights. Only authorized corridor operator in the dataset (DFW–Downtown Dallas, authorized under Texas HB 1735). Dallas-focused market strategy.
Acquired by Wanfeng Group / Diamond Aircraft following insolvency filing in March 2025. VoloCity and VoloXPro aircraft programs continue under new ownership. No active US market operations. FAA certification status pending under new corporate structure. Monitoring for US market re-entry signals.
FAA NASR 5010 data. 5,647 operational heliports nationwide, 742 mapped to AirIndex metro areas. Heliport density is a leading indicator of vertiport conversion potential.
Source: FAA NASR 28-Day Subscription, APT_BASE.csv • Ingested March 25, 2026 • Re-run each NASR cycle
The month’s most dramatic score change. Joby’s Bay Area demo flight transformed SF from an infrastructure-only market to a confirmed operator market. At 75 (ADVANCED), SF now has the potential to challenge Miami (80) if Joby commits to a permanent Bay Area base of operations. Watch for: Joby SFO corridor filing, Bay Area vertiport site announcements, California AB 1228 implementation guidance.
Arizona has UAM legislation actively moving through the state legislature. If enacted, Phoenix could swing +20 points and enter the ADVANCED tier. Combined with Joby’s confirmed operator presence and the existing pilot program, Phoenix is 12–18 months from being a top-5 market. Watch for: AZ SB 1457 (or successor) committee vote, Joby Phoenix operations timeline.
New York’s drop from 70 to 55 under v1.3 is the index’s clearest policy gap story. Three operators (Joby, Archer, and the inherited Blade network), an FAA-approved test program, and the Manhattan Heliport as a qualifying vertiport — yet zero state legislation and zero vertiport zoning. Any bill advancing through Albany would be the single most impactful legislative event in the index.
State Legislation elevated to 20pts (highest factor). Weather Infrastructure replaces LAANC (graduated: 10/7/3). Pilot/Vertiport reduced from 20 to 15 each. Full methodology at airindex.io/methodology.
5,647 operational heliports ingested from NASR database. Facility-level data stored for future audit product. Aggregate counts visible on all 21 city profiles. Re-runnable each 28-day NASR cycle.
Cross-state boundary enforcement (AZ bills no longer bleed to NV). City assignment at needs_review confidence (fewer empty classifications). 1,797 total records across 4 sources.
Blade Air Mobility fully consolidated under Joby across all cities, corridors, and vertiports. Operator count adjusted from 5 to 4. Historical data preserved with acquisition attribution.
Full factor-level breakdowns, score history, and corridor intelligence for all 21 markets.
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