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Electric air taxi company, Archer Aviation, announced plans this week with United Airlines to roll out an air taxi network across the New York City area that will connect local area airports with several points in Manhattan. The air taxis will drastically reduce travel times and provide a faster, greener way to get to the airport while avoiding traffic.
Archer Aviation’s service looks to get passengers to the airport within five to 15 minutes. This will be accomplished thanks to piloted electric air taxis that Archer calls “Midnight.” These are manufactured in San Jose, CA and Covington, GA and produce less noise and emissions than a traditional helicopter. Midnight is designed to carry four passengers and built with redundant systems (including 12 total engines and propellers) to allow Archer to target similar levels of safety as commercial airliners. Trips will be bookable as an add-on to a passenger’s regular airline tickets or through Archer’s app.
Initially, electric air taxis will be more expensive and targeted at Business and First Class passengers flying from NYC-area airports. The long-term goal is to one day make it affordable enough for everyday commuters to use it and replace cars as the primary means to the airports. There has been no word on what pricing looks like, but I’d expect it to be somewhat in line with what BLADE (see my review here) currently offers for its helicopter service.
The NYC proposed route map includes the following airports:
- Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
- New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
- New York John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
- Republic Airport (FRG)
- Teterboro Airport (TEB)
- Westchester County Airport (HPN)
Flights will run from West 34th Street, West 39th Street, and the Downtown Skyport.
Archer Aviation was founded in 2018 and taken public three years later with a market valuation of $3.94 billion according to Fox Business News. United previously placed an order for a fleet of Archer’s Midnight aircraft and has remained a long-time investor in the company. Archer received its FAA Part 135 Air Carrier and Operator Certificate in June 2024. It previously announced air taxi networks in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Adam Goldstein, CEO and Founder of Archer, said:
The New York region is home to three of the world’s preeminent airports, serving upwards of 150 million passengers annually. But the drive from Manhattan to any of these airports can be painful, taking one, sometimes two hours. We want to change that by giving residents and visitors the option to complete trips in mere minutes. With its existing helicopter infrastructure, regulatory support and strong demand, I believe New York could be one of the first markets for air taxis in the United States.”
Andrew Chang, Head of United Airlines Ventures, added:
At United, our focus is on driving innovation, reimagining the future of air travel and enhancing the customer experience every step of the journey. Our strategic collaboration with Archer will be key to our efforts to build and optimize the infrastructure – such as real estate development, air space management, and safety and security protocols – necessary to bring advanced air mobility to our customers.”
The interiors of the Midnight aircraft look so cool. Seats appear akin to what you’ll find in a domestic First Class cabin. I can’t wait to try this out. How United comes into the mix has also not been fully articulated. It looks like this add-on might be sold with some fares as an add-on in the future, but those details have also not been released.
Anthony’s Take: I am a huge fan of saving time. If the price was right, I’d love for this to replace my Uber trips. It will take time for this to launch and no dates have been set for passenger flights at this time. I’ll be keeping on top of Archer for future updates.
(Image Credits: Archer Aviation.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
