One of the largest airlines in the United States of America is looking towards the future of aviation: electric air taxis.
What’s happening:
- Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR) and Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) have formed a new partnership focused on accelerating the development of regional networks for electric air taxis
- The new partnership is aiming to allow customers of Southwest Airlines first of its kind access to Archer’s electric air taxis
Why it matters:
- Electric air taxis are one of the most promising areas of innovation for decarbonizing regional and short distance travel, particularly in highly populated cities which typically rely on gas powered vehicles that produce significant amounts of harmful emissions
By the numbers:
- Archer Aviation’s flagship electric air taxi known as the Midnight aircraft will get access to 14 different airports in California where Southwest Airlines currently operates
- United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL) previously made a $1B USD purchase of Archer’s electric air taxis as part of an effort to be a first mover in low carbon air transportation
Going deeper:
- Electric air taxis have been on the rise recently, with major cities such as Dubai beginning to form plans for large scale electric air taxi infrastructure and startups securing venture capital funding for building out disruptive new electric air taxis that are capable of flying hundreds of kilometres in a single trip
