Southwest Airlines and Archer Aviation have signed a memorandum of understanding to create air taxi networks in and around cities in California served by the carrier.
The Dallas-based airline and the Silicon Valley-headquartered advanced air mobility company plan to collaborate on “a concept of operations [that] lays the foundation for integrated electric air taxi networks that would support California airports and the surrounding communities”.
The airline, the fourth-largest in the USA, currently flies to 14 cities in the western US state, making it California’s biggest carrier. Archer is currently working on certification for its electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, which promises to replace 60-90min car journeys with ”estimated 10-20min” electric air taxi flights, the companies say.
“Southwest is eager to explore the convenience Archer’s air taxis could provide customers flying Southwest at airports in busy urban areas,” says Paul Cullen, vice-president of real estate at Southwest Airlines. “Integrating Archer’s electric aircraft into the travel journey potentially gives us an innovative opportunity to enhance the experience of flying Southwest.”
Archer chief commercial officer Nikhil Goel adds: “By putting together Southwest’s impressive network of airports in California and their frequent intrastate flights with our planned network, Southwest customers could someday complete door-to-door trips like Santa Monica to Napa in less than three hours.”
Last month, Archer said its Midnight electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft transitioned from hover to forward flight and back again for the first time. Also in June, Archer secured a Part 135 air carrier and operator certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration on behalf of its subsidiary Archer Air.
The company says it is still on track to certificate its aircraft this year and launch commercial operations as soon as 2025.
