Dive Brief:
- Archer Aviation announced today that it received Federal Aviation Administration certification to operate an air taxi service under Part 135 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which covers commuter and on-demand flight operations.
- The certificate allows Archer to begin flying aircraft commercially, but the company is still waiting on federal certification of its in-development eVTOL aircraft, which entails a separate procedure.
- Competitor Joby Aviation received its Part 135 certificate in May 2022. So far, these are the only two air taxi manufacturers certified by the FAA.
Dive Insight:
Receiving Part 135 flight certification moves Archer Aviation one step closer to commercial operations. The company previously said it plans to begin carrying passengers aboard its Midnight aircraft in 2025. These eVTOL aircraft can take off and land vertically, like a helicopter, but fly forward like a conventional airplane. They are electrically powered, promising lower noise than helicopters and zero in-flight emissions.
Archer said it plans to use the Part 135 certificate with conventional aircraft to refine systems and procedures ahead of launching its eVTOL aircraft once it receives type certification from the FAA.
Tom Anderson, Archer’s chief operating officer of urban air mobility, told Smart Cities Dive that the company will use its Beechcraft Bonanza, a single-engine, propeller-driven plane, to test-fly routes. “The whole idea here is to build maturity in our operations such that when Midnight shows up, the amount of work that's required to do is small,” he said. “We can then move quickly into operations with eVTOL aircraft.”
Archer and United Airlines plan to operate air taxi routes in Chicago and New York, serving major airports from each city’s downtown. Mike Leskinen, United’s chief financial officer and executive vice president, commended Archer for its progress in recent years. “Today marks another key milestone in their journey to bring safe, sustainable, and low noise air taxi services to market,” he said in a statement.
Stellantis, the global auto manufacturer of Chrysler, Jeep, Maserati and other brands, is partnering with Archer to produce the Midnight aircraft at a new facility in Covington, Georgia. Anderson said that Archer will “now start working on the more customer-facing part,” such as an app where passengers can see schedules and reserve a seat.
While Anderson knows some people see air taxis as “somewhat fanciful,” he said they will be a reality “in the not-too-distant future.”
