Archer Aviation teams up with United Airlines to make air taxis a reality

A growing number of companies are working to replace traditional airport commutes such as hail rides, cabs and trains with flying taxi services. 

One of them, Archer Aviation, announced Thursday that it’s developing an air taxi network in New York City in partnership with United Airlines.

The goal of the service is to fly passengers to their flights within minutes by its piloted electric air taxi, Midnight. Built at the company’s manufacturing facilities in San Jose, California, and Covington, Georgia, Midnight is designed to carry four passengers, who will eventually be able to book these air taxi flights as an add-on to their regular airline tickets or through Archer's app, according to founder and CEO Adam Goldstein. 

Initially, the service would be more expensive and targeted at business and first-class travelers flying from nearby airports. However, the long-term goal is to make it affordable enough for everyday commuters to use it regularly, potentially replacing car rides to and from the airport. 

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Archer Aviation, founded in 2018 and taken public three years later, has a market valuation of $3.94 billion. It has already signed agreements with major airports in the region, including John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Newark Airport, as well as three helipads in the city and regional airports like Westchester County Airport, Teterboro Airport and Republic Airport. 

The company previously announced plans to establish air taxi networks in Los Angeles and San Francisco and is currently in the final stages of securing approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

In an interview with Fox Business, Goldstein revealed that Archer aims to launch commercial operations as early as this year in Abu Dhabi, with a New York City launch targeted for 2026, pending regulatory approval which comes with high standards.

Goldstein said his motivation behind launching the aircraft was to help modernize urban transportation. In cities like New York, he noted, the population has grown significantly, but "the way we move around has only really gotten worse."

"I mean, the subway started in the '50s, and today there's not many new solutions," he said.

While helicopters offer one option, Goldstein pointed out that they come with major drawbacks: difficult to scale, less reliable and pose safety and noise concerns.

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He believes they will be "replaced with safer, quieter vehicles" and Archer's Midnight is poised to be one of them.

According to Goldstein, a helicopter will typically have 200 to 300 single points of failure, but once you go electric, you can add a level of redundancy that you can't get in a piston or combustion engine. 

Archer's aircraft, he said, is designed to eliminate many of the risks that are associated with traditional helicopters due to its all-electric propulsion system that features fewer moving parts, no combustion engine and no gearbox. 

Instead of a single main rotor, Archer's aircraft has 12 separate propellers, which means it can continue flying even when an engine or propeller is not working.

According to Goldstein, its digital flight control system also helps prevent any command or maneuver that could damage the aircraft. Its fixed wings allow it to glide up to 20 miles, which Goldstein said provides an added layer of safety not typically found in rotorcraft. It's why he said he is not concerned about more stringent standards.

In a comment to Fox Business, Goldstein said, "Yes, the FAA has set higher aircraft certification safety standards for our aircraft than for conventional light helicopters and light airplanes. The beauty of our aircraft is that we have highly redundant systems which enable us to achieve our exceed even these higher safety standards."

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It's a similar business model to Joby Aviation, which is simultaneously working in partnership with Delta Air Lines and Uber to develop its own electric flying taxis that the public will eventually be able to access daily. 

Joby plans to launch its operations in Dubai as early as this year, with U.S. operations expected in the next few years, pending completion of the FAA certification process.

However, while Joby and Archer are both electric vertical takeoff and landing companies, their aircraft designs and manufacturing strategies are different. 

For instance, while Joby uses a six-rotor configuration with tilting propellers, Archer employs a 12-rotor design with fixed wings. Joby also develops many components in-house while Archer uses traditional aerospace suppliers.