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Inside Archer's bold plans for air taxi rides across NYC, SF, and LA
The network will include several existing helipads held by infrastructure partners like fixed-base operator (FBO) Atlantic Aviation. The initial goal for Archer is to get air travelers from Manhattan to nearby airports like JFK in 5-15 minutes, instead of the 1-2 hours it could take driving through city traffic.
It's building this network in partnership with United Airlines, which previously ordered 300 of Archer's electric Midnight aircraft that can each carry four passengers and a pilot. The company has also partnered with auto giant Stellantis to build a manufacturing facility in Georgia, with the capacity to eventually produce more than 2,000 of these aircraft per year.
Archer's efforts to secure what's called 'Type Certification' from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for Midnight could enable the eVTOL company to operate out of major airports. It could then complement United passengers' regular flights with air taxi rides for shorter door-to-door travel times.
The company previously announced plans to build out vertiport networks in San Francisco and Los Angeles last year. The idea there was was to make quick commutes possible across those two Californian cities, in collaboration with properties at key locations around town.
This is all starting to feel pretty darn close to being a reality.
Archer is among the most funded eVTOL manufacturers out there, and it's also in an exclusive club of companies with aircraft that have managed to transition from hover to horizontal flight, along with Joby, AutoFlight, and Beta Technologies.
Plus, it noted three years ago that it was targeting a 2025 window to launch the first phase of its urban air mobility network in NYC, with a view to fly folks from downtown Manhattan to Newark Liberty International Airport.
According to the AAM Reality Index – a rating tool that tracks eVTOL companies' progress towards getting their aircraft and services off the ground – Archer appears to be on track to launch its commercial service this year. If the index is on the money, Archer will also be joined by Joby Aviation in taking off before 2025 is out. The latter completed a manned eVTOL flight with its S4 air taxi in NYC back in 2023.