Air Taxi Company Selling 116 Flying Vehicles for $580M

Air taxi company Archer Aviation is selling 116 of its Midnight electric flying vehicles to Future Flight Global (FFG) in a deal valued at up to $580 million.

The deal brings the total estimated sales of Archer electric vehicles (EAV) to $6 billion, according to the company.

As part of the deal signed under a memorandum of understanding, Future Flight Global (FFG) agreed to a $5 million pre-delivery deposit.

FFG was founded by the leadership team at Titan Aviation, which has been operating business jets under multiple air operator certificates worldwide for two decades.

“This new agreement both grows our prospective order book to nearly $6 billion and opens up Archer’s global reach to premium international markets,” said Andrew Cummins, director of business development at Archer. “As our first private aviation partner, and with their deep ties in aviation and bold approach, FFG is positioned to be a new leader in modern aviation. Partnering with Karan and the team at FFG was an obvious choice and an ideal relationship for Archer.”

Archer and FFG plan to launch air taxi services in Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

“FFG plans to operate select routes within Archer’s planned air taxi service, leveraging Archer’s existing vertiport infrastructure network with partners such as Signature and Atlantic Aviation,” stated the deal announcement.

Related:Air Taxi Company Gets $400M More Backing From Stellantis

Archer recently received a commitment of up to $400 million from Stellantis to help cover costs relating to scaling the manufacturing of 650 EAVs annually.

Archer also secured $230 million in additional capital equity from investors including Stellantis and United Airlines.

In addition to the financing, Archer also announced it is planning a Los Angeles air taxi network with takeoff and landing facilities at Los Angeles International Airport, USC, Orange County, Santa Monica, Hollywood Burbank, Long Beach and Van Nuys. 

The network is scheduled to start in 2026.

Archer and the Los Angeles Rams are also collaborating for potentially exclusive vertiports at Woodland Hills and Hollywood Park around the stadium. 

The latest Stellantis investment is intended to cover labor and manufacturing costs related to the Archer Midnight flying taxi through 2030. To date, Stellantis has invested nearly $300 million in Archer.

The Archer Midnight can carry four passengers, a pilot and carry-on luggage and is aimed at trips of 20 to 50 miles, with 10 minutes of battery charging time between flights.

It can travel up to 150 mph and is designed for back-to-back flights. As with other EAVs, the Archer Midnight is a low-altitude flying vehicle.

Related:Air Taxi Plant on Track for 2024 Completion

Archer is on track to complete its manufacturing plant in Georgia before the end of this year.

The 400,000-square-foot facility in Covington is being constructed to be capable of producing 650 Archer Midnight flying vehicles. 

Archer recently featured its Midnight EAV for government officials at Atlantic Aviation’s new terminal at DeKalb–Peachtree Municipal Airport, where it provided the construction update. 

Archer recently signed a deal with Southwest Airlines to create an electric air taxi network in California using Archer’s Midnight eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) vehicle.

The air taxis would fly in California, where Southwest operates from 14 airports across the state.

This deal includes partnering with Southwest employees and unions for operations to provide travelers with a door-to-door journey with the EAV involved in the first and last miles of a trip.

Stellantis started investing in Archer in 2021, a year after it became a strategic partner to the flying taxi company.

Archer has been tapping into the supply chain and manufacturing assets of Stellantis to help develop its eVTOLs and the new investment furthers that relationship.

Related:Air Taxi Company Teams With Southwest Airlines

Archer had already announced it was planning an air mobility network connecting five locations across the San Francisco Bay area with takeoff and landing facilities in San Francisco, Napa, San Jose, Oakland and Livermore.

Archer also has partnered with Signature Aviation to provide the eVTOL maker access to key United Airlines hubs at airports including Newark International and Chicago O’Hare.

Signature is the world’s largest network of private aviation terminals and would provide Archer with access to takeoff and landing sites in major metropolitan areas across the U.S., including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Texas.

The companies plan to leverage their partnerships with Beta Technologies from Burlington, Vermont, to install the Beta rapid recharging systems at the Signature terminals

Archer recently received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to begin operating EAVs commercially.

That was the second air taxi maker to be certified by the FAA, following Joby Aviation, which received its FAA certificate in 2022.

The so-called Part 135 certificate allows Archer to carry United Airlines passengers to and from airports on Archer flying vehicles once Type Certification is received, which could be next year. United and Archer plan to conduct commercial operations together.

Archer has been expanding globally, including a deal with Kakao Mobility in Korea for the purchase of up to 50 of the Archer Midnight at a value of $250 million.

Kakao Mobility would own and operate the EAVs in Korea, with flying taxi flights offered to the 30 million registered users on the Kakao T mobile app starting in 2026. 

Archer featured Midnight for the first time in Saudi Arabia, following a showcasing of the EAV at the DriftX mobility expo in Abu Dhabi.

Archer is in the process of establishing UAM operations across the UAE with the help of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, Falcon Aviation and Air Chateau.

The EAV company has received a commitment of hundreds of millions of dollars from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office.