Air Taxi Plant on Track for 2024 Completion

Flying taxi company Archer Aviation 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 have the capacity to produce 650 Archer Midnight flying vehicles. 

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

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.

“Thanks to the hard work of the Archer and Stellantis teams, we’re tracking towards completing this manufacturing facility by the end of the year,” said Adam Goldstein, CEO and founder of Archer. “Once complete, we’ll focus on ramping production up to 650 aircraft a year — our goal is to be the first in the eVTOL industry to achieve scaled manufacturing.”

Archer recently signed a deal with Southwest Airlines to create an electric air taxi network in California using Archer’s Midnight eVTOL.

Related:Flying Taxi Company Plans San Francisco Takeoff-Landing Network

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.

Archer recently received a $55 million investment from automaker and backer Stellantis as part of a funding agreement linked to a successful transition flight test completed in June.

Earlier this year, Stellantis purchased 8 million worth of Archer stock following an investment of $110 million in Archer in 2023.

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 in the development of its eVTOLs.

Archer had announced it was planning to create 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.

Related:Air Taxi Company Receives $55M More from Stellantis

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 KakaoMobility in Korea for the purchase of up to 50 of the Archer Midnight at a value of $250 million.

KakaoMobility 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. 

Related:Air Taxi Company Teams With Southwest Airlines

Archer also recently partnered with Etihad Training to recruit and train pilots to fly its Midnight EAV across the United Arab Emirates.

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.

Etihad Aviation Training trains pilots for numerous global airlines and plans to work with Archer to recruit and train pilots for the Archer eVTOL.

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

Archer last year raised $215 million from Stellantis, Boeing, United Airlines and ARK Investment Management, with total funding at that time at $1.1 billion.