Archer’s Plan for a Network of Air Taxis Could Leverage Southwest’s Customer Insights

In a groundbreaking collaboration, Archer Aviation is joining forces with Southwest Airlines to explore the development of a network of electric air taxis across California’s airports, leveraging Southwest’s extensive customer insights.

A shared memorandum of understanding was inked on Friday, granting Archer the capability to access Southwest’s vast clientele and their pertinent data. This strategic move should provide valuable insights for Archer, particularly in identifying optimal locations for vertiports or eVTLOG (Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing) stations.

Archer’s partnership with Southwest marks its second alliance with a major U.S. airline, following a similar agreement with United Airlines. This underscores the eVTOL firm’s commitment to enhancing regional air mobility.

With Southwest’s presence in 14 Californian airports and Archer’s Midnight aircraft aiming to significantly reduce typical urban car commutes from 60-90 minutes to just 10-20 minutes by air, there’s a clear focus on streamlining airport transfers. These trips, often plagued by costly and time-consuming traffic, are identifiably ripe for disruption. Archer faces competitive pressures from Joby Aviation, which has inked a comparable partnership with Delta Airlines.

Nikhil Goel, Archer’s Chief Commercial Officer, shared insights with TechCrunch about envisaged synergies such as integrated commercial offerings. This could mean adding an Archer flight option when purchasing a Southwest ticket, potentially starting or ending the customer’s journey with a swift air taxi flight.

Archer is considering a range of additional collaborative opportunities with Southwest and United, potentially embedding services directly within airport operations for seamless travel experiences.

“Imagine arriving at SFO and boarding your Southwest flight straight after stepping off an Archer air taxi, bypassing usual security checks,” Goel illustrated, highlighting ongoing discussions with TSA for streamlined vertiport security processes. Benefits might extend to preferential or discounted fares for frequent flyers, or the possibility of earning loyalty points across the services.

In the backdrop of these ambitious plans, Archer has recently undertaken two pivotal financial operations signaling an accelerating thrust towards their 2025 commercial launch target. A strategic move was made last month to maximize a $55 million funding agreement with Stellantis from 2023, aimed at expediting the production of the Midnight aircraft in Georgia.

As Archer advances the assembly of six conforming aircraft in California, future production goals are ambitious, targeting an annual output of 650 units by late 2024 from the new Georgia facility.

Moreover, Archer has issued warrants for acquiring up to 57,050 shares of Class A common stock, underscoring a creative approach to fulfilling service provider obligations without direct cash flow impact. According to Goel, this strategy seeks to align suppliers with Archer’s success, beyond mere cash preservation efforts.

With sights set on launching air taxi services in key cities by 2025, Archer remains committed to overcoming operational challenges, including securing necessary FAA certifications. The company anticipates rolling out services in Miami and San Francisco in collaboration with United Airlines and Atlantic, and is also exploring expansions in Los Angeles and New York, bolstered by a recent agreement with Signature, a leading private terminal operator.

Beyond the U.S., Archer’s ambition spans global markets with plans to introduce electric air taxi services in South Korea, India, and Abu Dhabi by 2026, following a notable partnership with Kakao Mobility in South Korea.