By air taxi to the airport
United Airlines believes that very soon we will all be traveling to the airport by air taxi, and it is for this purpose that they took and spent a lot of money to participate in this direction. The airline announced recently that it will invest over $1 billion in Archer Aviation. — start-up for the development of electric aircraft with vertical takeoff and landing.
Suburban air taxis
The startup claims that its eVTOLs, positioned as commuter air taxis, will be able to carry passengers for a distance of about 100 kilometers on a single charge and reach speeds of up to 240 km/h. The full-scale aircraft, which is still at the prototype stage, is planned to be presented later this year, with mass production scheduled for 2023. Jetsetters will be able to take advantage of these new zero-emission aircraft as early as 2024, which will serve major US hubs, according to Archer Aviation.
“The electric aircraft will carry passengers up to 100 kilometers at about 240 km/h,” said Jeff Ludes/founder of Archer Aviation.
“The design, manufacturing model and engineering expertise of the Archer eVTOL has clear potential to change the way people travel in major metropolitan areas around the world,” United CEO Scott Kirby said in a statement.
Indeed, the airline estimates that flying one of the Archer eVTOL vehicles between Hollywood and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) will reduce CO2 emissions by up to 50 percent per passenger. By the way, Los Angeles is one of the first cities in which Archer plans to launch its fleet, and one of the largest US hubs.
United Airlines is not the only one to invest in Archer. Separately, the startup announced that it has reached a merger agreement with Atlas Crest Investment Corp. to become a public company. The combined company, which will soon be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under “ACHR”, will have an estimated capital of $3.8 billion. Archer also said it expects to generate $1.1 billion in gross proceeds to fund future growth, including $600 million in private equity investments (PIPE) from investors such as Stellantis and United. Fiat Chrysler also recently announced a partnership with Archer to develop flying vehicles.
Apparently, this is quite a far-sighted move. Morgan Stanley predicts that the eVTOL market could reach $1.5 trillion in the next 20 years. If this forecast is confirmed, the first investors will be richly rewarded.