Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft company Archer Aviation has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Atlantic Aviation to begin developing air taxi infrastructure in Los Angeles and New York City metropolitan areas, along with San Francisco and Miami.
Atlantic Aviation, which already operates an international fixed-base operator (FBO) network, and Archer plan to electrify existing sites used by Atlantic in the four key launch markets.
In a statement from Archer, the eVTOL aircraft developer said it plans to launch air taxi services from these initial locations in 2025 and then expand further using Atlantic’s existing infrastructure as demand increases.
“We are excited to work with Atlantic to help electrify their vast portfolio of high-value aviation assets in America’s most congested cities including the New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco markets,” Nikhil Goel, Archer’s Chief Commercial Officer, said. “These initial eVTOL vertiport locations will provide a launching pad for future expansion across Atlantic’s portfolio and ensure that our Midnight aircraft has safe, centrally located landing facilities for our future passengers.”
The two companies plan to leverage existing relationships with BETA Technologies to install its interoperable rapid recharging systems.
BETA’s chargers utilize the Combined Charging System that was recently endorsed by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and is being utilized by several original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) across the industry.
“We are impressed with Archer’s technology and suite of world-class partners including United Airlines; we are excited to work together to electrify our aviation assets to enable quiet and sustainable urban air travel in cities across the U.S.” John Redcay, Atlantic Aviation Chief Commercial and Sustainability Officer, said.
Archer’s goal is to transform urban travel, replacing 60- to 90-minute commutes by car with estimated 10- to 20-minute electric air taxi flights that are safe, sustainable, low noise, and cost-competitive with ground transportation.
Archer’s eVTOL aircraft, Midnight, is a piloted, four-passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time in between flights.