New York (AFP) – Aviation startup Archer unveiled Thursday an air taxi venture with United Airlines that it says will one day allow New York city travelers to reach area airports in 15 minutes or less. Archer brought a prototype version of its Midnight aircraft to the Big Apple Thursday to mark the announcement. Exactly when the service will be available to New Yorkers will be determined by the US Federal Aviation Administration, which still must certify the electrically powered vehicle.
“I don’t think anybody is excited to go sit in a car for 90 minutes to travel 15 miles,” Archer Chief Executive Adam Goldstein said of New York’s notorious road traffic. The aircraft is “almost like a time machine,” he said, enabling travel “from Manhattan to the airports in five to 10 minutes, versus the typical 90-minute time to drive.” But Archer still faces a number of hurdles to bring this vision to reality.
In parallel with the FAA certification process, the company is pursuing approvals in the United Arab Emirates, where Archer is targeting a commercial launch in the fourth quarter of 2025. The Midnight, which is outfitted with 12 engines and 12 propellers, can hold a pilot and up to four passengers, plus luggage. Goldstein believes the rides can one day be much more affordable than today, when people might travel in a helicopter once in their lifetime.
He is eyeing a gradual expansion, with a relatively small number of vehicles in service in 2025 and 2026, ramping up later in the decade. The company recently completed a manufacturing facility in Georgia. Helicopters could be a “mass use product” if they “were much more affordable and if they had very high safety standards,” said Goldstein.
Earlier this month, a New York tour helicopter malfunctioned and plunged into the Hudson River, killing the pilot and five people from the same family inside. Goldstein is bullish that artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge software can allow growth of an urban air taxi transport without safety problems.
© 2024 AFP
