David Dong
Digital Marketing Manager, Canadian Advanced Air Mobility Consortium
Mediaplanet sat down with David Dong of the Canadian Advanced Air Mobility Consortium (CAAM) to discuss sustainability and reaching the net-zero emissions goal by 2050.
What is AAM?
Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is the evolution of air transportation enabled by an ecosystem of new technologies allowing people, goods, and services to move within urban and regional areas safely, according to the Canadian Drone Advisory Committee (CanaDAC).
Why is sustainability so important in the AAM industry?
Aside from helping to reach the net-zero emissions goal by 2050, AAM technologies and innovations provide opportunities to reduce the dependency on finite resources such as fuel and rare minerals used in traditional aviation, by utilizing alternative and renewable sources of energy.
What strides is the industry making in terms of DEI?
Aviation is a predominantly white, male-dominated industry, but several organizations and institutions are looking to increase diversity by bringing different voices and perspectives to the table; First Nations Technical Institute offers the only post-secondary Indigenous aviation program of its kind in Canada, training Indigenous youth to become qualified, professional pilots in a unique learning environment.
Matthew Land of EVE Air Mobility alongside Matt Broffman of Lilium and Gareth Lewis of WestJet joined our LGBTQ2S+ Uplift event last September to share their experiences in their organizations and brought forward why DEI is important for the future of aviation.
Teara Fraser, CAAM co-founding member, started Iskwew Air — the first Indigenous-woman-owned airline in Canada — to build bridges between traditional air service and the sustainable technology of the future.
How is CAAM supporting Canada in achieving net-zero emissions by 2050?
CAAM is a socially responsible, federal not-for-profit consortium that acts as the national catalyst for the AAM industry in Canada, with over 70 members spanning industry, government, and academia.
While we don’t develop and build these new aircraft ourselves, we are the catalyst for the zero-emission aviation ecosystem alongside our aircraft partners. CAAM drives the conversation nationally through our AAM whitepapers of multiple Canadian cities (Vancouver and Toronto) and through our economic, environmental, and social feasibility studies.
What AAM innovations are you most excited about?
Personally, I am most excited about electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOLs) emergency first responder services. In Atlantic Canada, where I currently reside, there is a great need for quick access to ambulances, and I believe AAM innovations could help alleviate some of the stress placed on the ground crew.
To learn more, visit canadianaam.com.
