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Masterclass: Investing in the AAM Market
Kevin Rozario
September 24, 2025
Vertiport infrastructure around the eVTOL and AAM market is key to future growth.
© EVE/Embraer
Curtis Grad, President and CEO, Modalis Infrastructure Partners
Experts in the fields of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) and electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft have gathered in Rome, Italy (September 23-25) to discuss how cutting-edge infrastructure and the latest technology are coming together to create the new travel market of the future.
Modalis Infrastructure Partners (MIP), the Vancouver-based international multi-modal transport infrastructure strategic advisory player, is present at the event—Advanced Air Mobility for Airport Business—hosted by UrbanV and Aeroporti di Roma at the Innovation Hub of Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport (FCO).
Among the attendees are Korean Airports Corp., ODINSA S.A. (Colombia), PAX Aeroportos (Brazil), Gloucestershire Airport (UK) and many others, as well as airport authorities, academia, regional airports, airlines and public and planning entities. The event is the industry's only independent experience exchange offering practical workshops/training, dedicated to advancing AAM expertise and learning from industry leaders.
MIP’s President and CEO, Curtis Grad, gave his assessment of the investment opportunities offered by the AAM revolution. The company has established a vertiports division, underscoring its belief in this new segment.
While it’s been a long time coming, eVTOL aircraft are anticipated to achieve certification and start commercial operations within the next two to three years. Front-runners include Archer, Joby, Beta (U.S.), Eve Air Mobility (U.S./Brazil), backed by Embraer and E-Hang (China) and widespread adoption and large-scale operational commercial fleets are anticipated by the mid-2030s.
Airports: a Proxy for Vertiports
The AAM market is projected to reach $5 trillion by 2040 with 30,000 eVTOLs by 2045. Given the potential for very rapid scaling, Grad offered insights into the investments that will be needed for vertiports. He said: “There has been a near singular focus on the technology side to date; however, brick-and-mortar infrastructure will be essential. Analogous to airports, AAM and vertiport operators will need a diversified revenue stream to be viable.”
As a reminder, Grad noted that global private sector participation in airports has been vital in most parts of the world (the U.S. and Canada excluded), and this is because airports are seen as attractive long-term investments due to their growth potential and reliable cash flows.
“The past 25 years have witnessed a steady shift from public- to private-sector operating-and-investment models, as governments around the world have come to embrace private sector participation in airports,” said Grad. That participation has come from a broad range of players, including pure investors, pure operators, EPC contractors, and various combinations of the above.
An impression of a vertiport concept at Dubai South from V Ports.
© VPorts
In the airport market today, there are over 400 airports and 150+ active deals in the global public-privatization partnership (PPP) pipeline. Primary concessions are the market-leading model at 62% of all transaction types, with 24% being trade sales on the secondary market.
Vertiports to Pick Up the Baton
“Airport private sector participation has seen remarkable growth over the past 25 years and is now recognized as a distinct infrastructure/investment asset class in its own right,” said Grad. “In the next 25 years, vertiports will claim a similar place in the transport infrastructure space.
Currently, airports rank first in terms of attractiveness for infrastructure investors across 11 asset classes, ranging from toll roads and highways to ports and marine terminals. Vertiports will eventually also slot into this ranking somewhere.
During the workshop, delegates discovered the typical process matrix and legal framework involved for private sector participation in airports, a model that is expected to be exactly the same for vertiports.
As vertiports will be competing for the same capital as airports, they will have to offer profitability and predictability that is at the same, or better, level. Investors will look for the most attractive returns that also balance long-term reliability and market stability.
Among the parameters they will look at are long-term mean EV/EBITDA multiples that will allow industry players to monetize their vertiport investments via the public or private equities markets at a healthy valuation. Currently, there are about 50 global airport operators/investors involved in private sector participation in more than one airport in more than one country, or multiple airports in the same country. The traditional divide/distinction between operator, developer, investor, and contractor is disappearing for airports and for vertiports, this is likely to become the default approach.
© Modalis
Passenger traffic is the main driver of airport revenues and investor income, so vertiports must unlock this value to succeed. Given that in its early days, the AAM market will likely be a luxury service catering to wealthier consumers in upper tiers of per capita income, certain markets (see chart above) will be more appealing to investors than others. However, this could change quickly once AAM is adopted more widely and prices drop.
While Asia-Pacific is set to dominate aircraft deliveries in the decades to come, initially, eVTOL deliveries are expected to go towards the Middle East. “For vertiports, the challenge will be economies-of-scale as it will be difficult to generate sufficient capital recovery and profit at four passengers per flight,” said Grad. Therefore, the capacity of current eVTOL aircraft platforms must be expanded to make the numbers work.