Archer Aviation, an electric aircraft start-up company, has announced a partnership with Atlantic Aviation and together the two companies will begin the development of electric aircraft infrastructure at Atlantic’s existing assets, including Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO).
San Jose-based Archer has been developing electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft since 2018 and Texas-based Atlantic is a leading fixed-base operator (FBO) network and aviation services provider. With their combined resources, they aim to establish an air taxi service that utilizes existing assets at specific locations. Early launch markets will focus on highly congested cities such as Los Angeles, New York and Miami.
Atlantic and Archer anticipate launch of service across these initial locations in 2025 and subsequent expansion of services to other locations across Atlantic’s portfolio as availability of Archer’s eVTOL aircraft increases.
“We’re building a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, capable of carrying four passengers and a pilot plus a little bit of luggage and it’s 100% all-electric,” Nikhil Goel, Chief Commercial Officer at Archer Aviation says. “It can take off vertically, like a helicopter, but then it flies forward on a wing, just like a normal airplane. The reason that’s really important is that helicopters are very loud and they’re tremendously expensive. The aircraft we’re building, they’re 100 times quieter than helicopters,” he added.
“They’re fully redundant, meaning there’s no part on the aircraft that if it were to fail would cause the flight to fail. And so that allows it to be much safer than a helicopter. And it’s very affordable. So a flight from Santa Monica to Malibu for example, or Santa Monica to Orange County would cost just as much as an Uber if not a little bit less,” Goel says.
Credit: Archer Aviation
Initial routes will be “trunk” routes from airport to city center, as there is known demand and strong willingness to pay. The first of these routes was announced in 2022 in partnership with United Airlines on the East Coast. That will connect United’s hub at Newark Liberty International Airport to the Downtown Manhattan Heliport. Once the primary trunk routes have been established, “branch” routes will be developed to connect to surrounding communities.
Transportation technology is advancing all the time, however, electric cars and even autonomous vehicles have only seen a slow drip-feed-style acceptance by the masses, but Goel says that this is completely different. For starters, this will not be autonomous, a pilot is flying the aircraft at all times. And secondly, this is not about owning a vehicle and having to constantly find charging ports. This is, to all intents and purposes, a taxi service. And the concept is slowly popping up all over the world.
“That’s why we’re in this business, to be able to drive the noise down, which is a key issue to some of the key regional airports and some of the cities that are really important for us to serve,” Goel says. “It enables us to be able to go build a reasonable amount of vehicles and serve anybody who wants to be able to get from A to B quickly. And then also driving the cost down to below the price of an Uber allows us to make this accessible.”
The model of eVTOL aircraft that will be used is what Archer Aviation calls the Midnight. Powered by six independent battery packs, each supporting a pair of electric engines, it’s capable of flying up to 100 miles at speeds of up to 150 mph and optimized for regular 20-50 mile urban trips.
It’s designed to accommodate a certified pilot and comfortably fit up to four passengers and luggage and typically flies at about 1500 feet. Plus the Midnight can perform back-to-back, 20 mile flights with only 12 minutes of charge time in between.
Credit: Archer Aviation
According to Goel, United Airlines has purchased a billion dollars worth of aircraft and in fact, they’ve invested in the company three times already.
“We can certainly see that the westside of Los Angeles is one of the most congested, but also the busiest. We think Santa Monica, in particular, is really interesting, because you’ve got such a rich and vibrant community here,” Goel says.
Using a trip from Santa Monica to Malibu as an example, Goel says that it’s approximately a 12 mile flight. However, traveling by road, that journey could take anywhere up to and over an hour. Flying by an air taxi, it would take about five minutes in the air and cost each passenger roughly between $30 and $40, which is less than what a rideshare vehicle would more than likely cost.
“You’ve also got a rich history of aviation, that airport’s existed for a long time. And I understand that it’s also caused a lot of controversy, we hope that we can partner with the city of Santa Monica, to enable that asset in a way that’s really safe, in a way that’s really quiet, in a way that’s accessible to all and also make it a pillar of the community. Somewhere where the community can gather can appreciate the art of flying and can get excited about it,” says Goel.
Miles Rogers, SVP of Marketing for Archer Aviation, will be giving a lecture as part of the new Aviation Innovation series of talks held every month at the Museum of Flying. At 12noon on Sunday, February 25 at 3100 Airport Avenue, Rogers will talk about the fascinating world of electric air taxis and urban aerial mobility, together with insights into sustainable aircraft systems, eVTOL and hydrogen-electric aircraft. Visit museumofflying.org for more information and tickets.