Electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL) developer Archer Aviation and United Airlines announced Thursday a planned route between Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and the Downtown Manhattan Heliport. The companies said this is the first specific route that has been announced in the eVTOL industry.
The flight is expected to take less than 10 minutes. Archer is targeting 2025 to begin service.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams lauded the development in the companies’ press release. “We want New York to be a place of bold innovation and outside the box thinking, and I encourage other companies to follow their lead,” he said.
A spokesperson for Archer added in an email, “The city will be involved in the process at every step.”
In August, Archer said it received a $10 million pre-delivery payment from United Airlines for 100 of the company’s initial production eVTOL aircraft.
Archer’s early launch routes will provide airport to city center transportation service, the company said in a press release, followed by branch routes connecting to surrounding communities.
A Deloitte report issued in June, predicted that eVTOL aircraft could become mainstream in the 2030s.
“Archer’s New York to Newark route marks another important benchmark towards providing a carbon-neutral and safe commute that drastically reduces the travel time and produces a fraction of the sound emitted by helicopters,” said Michael Leskinen, president of United Airlines Ventures, in the press release.
