Air Taxi Network for New York City Unveiled; United Airlines Partnership (2025)

An air taxi network for New York City using electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles to fly to and from Manhattan to the three major area airports was announced today by Archer Aviation in partnership with United Airlines.

Flights would leave from John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Newark Airport and fly to East 34th Street Heliport, Downtown Skyport and West 30th Street Heliport.

Flight times to the city are expected to be from five to 15 minutes, replacing what could be up to a two-hour car ride, depending on traffic.

Once operations ramp up, the price is expected to be cost-competitive with ground transportation, an Archer spokesperson told IoT World Today.

Flights would be in the Archer Midnight electric aerial vehicles.

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 between flights.

The vehicle has 12 total engines and propellers with redundant systems, as is typical with the major air taxis in development. It can travel up to 150 mph and is designed for back-to-back flights. As with other EAVs, Midnight is a low-altitude flying vehicle.

Passengers could book a flight as a complement to traditional United Airlines travel, reducing door-to-door travel times.

Related:Flying Taxi Vertiport Getting Set for New York City

Travelers could also book an eVTOL flight to or from the city even if they’re not flying on United, a spokesperson said.

The air taxis would be flown by Archer pilots. Archer is working in partnership with United for specific routes.

“The New York region is home to three of the world’s preeminent airports, serving upwards of 150 million passengers annually,” Adam Goldstein, CEO and founder of Archer said in the announcement. “But the drive from Manhattan to any of these airports can be painful, taking one, sometimes two hours. We want to change that by giving residents and visitors the option to complete trips in mere minutes. With its existing helicopter infrastructure, regulatory support and strong demand, I believe New York could be one of the first markets for air taxis in the United States.”

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United Airlines made a pre-delivery payment for 100 Archer EAVs in 2022.

“At United, our focus is on driving innovation, reimagining the future of air travel and enhancing the customer experience every step of the journey,” Andrew Chang, head of United Airlines Ventures said in the announcement.

Earlier this year, Archer announced a launch edition commercialization program for its air taxi with plans to deploy the initial fleet to Abu Dhabi Aviation later this year.

Related:Air Taxi Fleet Going to Abu Dhabi; Passenger Flights Planned

Archer intends to set up a repeatable commercialization process to deploy its Midnight eVTOL vehicle to dozens of markets in advance of certification by the FAA, expected later this year or early next.

Abu Dhabi Aviation has signed up to be the first Launch Edition customer, according to Archer, with plans to conduct passenger flights later this year.

Both Archer andJoby Aviation, the other main flying taxi company, have been highly active in the United Arab Emirates, especially during the last year.

Archer and Abu Dhabi Aviation plan to work together in pilot training, operation and community engagement, according to the announcement.

Archer has received certification from the FAA to launch its pilot training academy, with the FAA Part 141 certification giving Archer the approval to train and qualify pilots as it plans for commercial flying taxi services.

Archer recentlyraised $300 million to help the company speed the development of its hybrid aircraft platform for the defense industry, with financing coming from institutional investors including funds managed by BlackRock.

Related:Air Taxi Pilot Training Approved by FAA

Archer launched Archer Defenselate last year to develop next-generation hybrid-propulsion vertical takeoff and landing vehicles for defense applications.

The funding is targeted at the development of manufacturing capabilities including batteries and composites.

Archerhas a certificate of occupancy to move into its flying vehicle manufacturing facility in Covington, Georgia.

Initial production at the 400,000-square-foot facility plans to produce twoelectric vertical takeoff and landing vehiclesa month by the end of the year.

The high-volume facility, referred to as Arc, was built in conjunction with automakerStellantis, which is investing capital, advanced manufacturing technology and expertise.

Archer expects the plant to produce 650 air taxis annually by the end of the decade and it plans to produce its all-electric Midnight at the plant.

Archerpreviously raised $430 millionin additional equity capital, bringing the total raised to nearly $2 billion.

That funding came from long-term backers Stellantis and United Airlines along with institutional investors Wellington Management and Abu Dhabi investment holding company 2PointZero.

Archer and defense technology company Anduril Industries plan to jointly develop a next-generation flying vehicle for the Department of Defense.

Archer is on target to have the first electric aerial vehicle manufactured and operated in the Middle East and North Africa region and thefirst to launch commercial flying taxi operations in the Emirate.

Archer alsohas a deal for Japan Airlines and Sumitomo Corporation to purchase 100 eVTOL vehiclesto launch an advanced air mobility service in Japan.

The Soracle Corporation obtained the rights to order 100 Midnight vehicles in a deal valued at $500 million.

The goal is to provide electric air taxi flights in cities where ground transportation is constrained by traffic or geographic barriers.

The air taxis could serve Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Hokkaido, Setouchi and Okinawa.

Archer and Soracle said they plan to work with the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau to gain the needed certifications. Archer already intended to apply for type certificate from JCAB.

Joby Aviation is also looking at Japan, havingrecently conducted exhibition flights with Toyota in Japan, that company’s first flights outside the U.S.

Toyota has been investing in Joby since 2019 and sharing knowledge of the Toyota systems for planning, manufacturing and tooling design.

Meanwhile, Archer already has completed 400 test flights, which produced data to evaluate and refine flying vehicle loads, vibrations, performance and handling.

The flights included longer distance flights to gather data, increased daily operations to simulate busy flight days, landings in various wind conditions and hovering to collect data on noise.

Archer is alsoselling 116 of its Midnight flying vehicles to Future Flight Global in a deal valued at up to $580 million, bringing the total estimated future sales of Archer EAVs to more than $6 billion, according to the company.

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

Archer is alsoplanning a Los Angeles air taxi network with takeoff and landing facilitiesat Los Angeles International Airport, USC, Orange County, Santa Monica, Hollywood Burbank, Long Beach and Van Nuys, scheduled to start in 2026.

Archer alsohas a deal with Southwest Airlinesto create an electric air taxi network in California using Archer’s eVTOL vehicle.

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

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

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