Archer Aviation says it hopes to get Abu Dhabi's first flying taxis in the air this year, viewing the technology-obsessed Gulf as the launch pad to show the rest of the world how it is done. Founder Adam Goldstein told <i>The National </i>the company is “ready to launch” in 2025. The ambitious time frame is based on using the capital's existing helicopter flight paths and <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/future/technology/2024/12/06/archer-aviation-signs-agreement-for-flying-taxi-operations-in-abu-dhabi/" target="_blank">air traffic control</a> rather than building a system from scratch. “We've made great partners with Etihad Aviation Training, all the partners across the entire ecosystem. So, the goal is to really start flying aircraft in <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/2024/11/25/air-taxi-company-set-for-2025-abu-dhabi-launch-aims-to-be-uber-of-the-skies/" target="_blank">Abu Dhabi this year</a>. That's incredibly exciting,” Mr Goldstein told <i>The National </i>at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month. Archer is backed by car giant Stellantis and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala. It is collaborating with organisations in the UAE, including the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (Adio), Abu Dhabi Airports, Falcon Aviation Services, Etihad Aviation Training and the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to try and get the first commercially viable electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles off the ground. In Dubai, <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/2024/11/16/joby-dubai-flying-taxi/" target="_blank">Joby Aviation</a>, backed by Toyota, is the first operator of flying taxis, with a <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/aviation/2024/11/19/dubai-airports-chief-on-how-flying-taxis-will-share-airspace-with-a380s/" target="_blank">2026 launch date</a>. Mr Goldstein says the first of Archer’s electric aircraft, the Midnight, designed to carry up to four passengers and a pilot with a range of 160km, can be in the skies of Abu Dhabi this year. “We'll start at really low levels where there's already existing routes, existing air traffic control. And the reason is because helicopters fly every day,” he said. “We've partnered with the large helicopter companies in Abu Dhabi and we'll largely follow a lot of the same patterns. We'll start small and we'll give plenty of time for the entire ecosystem to evolve with us.” Early operations are expected to be from Abu Dhabi airport to the city centre, which is about 30 minutes by car but six or seven minutes in a Midnight eVTOL travelling up to 260 kph. The company says its long-term goal is to replace 60 to 90-minute trips by car with 10 to 20-minute electric air taxis. Mr Goldstein puts the pricing around the Uber Black range. So passengers could pay about Dh350 ($95) for a flight from Zayed International Airport to Emirates Palace, the luxury hotel on the Corniche. “These are not just toys for the rich. These are vehicles that are accessible and these are vehicles that are much quieter,” he said. It is expected there will be just a handful in the air at any time during the early days. “I think the visions of highways in the sky will come one day, but those might be a few years down the road,” Mr Goldstein said. Archer is awaiting regulatory approval from Abu Dhabi's authorities. The industry at large has been working towards the point at which the sums add up. Archer and Joby Aviation have drawn in billions of dollars in investment and their share prices surge on the expectation of a launch soon. “We're at this really interesting point in the industry's life cycle, where you've seen a lot of the key emerging technologies, like battery technology, get to this point – so you can now fly vehicles that make economic sense,” he said. “At the same time, a lot of the regulation has come into a spot that's been formalised – and Archer has spent a lot of time going through that process to prove that these vehicles are safe. “As that process has matured, we're now at the stage we're ready to launch. Abu Dhabi has been a great partner to Archer, really for a long time.” Mr Goldstein says decision-makers in the Emirates and the broader Gulf are ahead when it comes to vision. “We are acting as a big advertising campaign to the entire GCC. We have incredible new technologies, you have a region that's emerging, and there's an opportunity to launch them in the broader GCC,” he said. When asked about safety, Mr Goldstein said aerial vehicles have a far stronger record than motor vehicles. “This is a technology that's been worked on for a very long time. There's been a lot of flight testing that's gone into it, and there will continue to be a lot more flight testing that goes into it,” he said. The Midnight is flown by a pilot but he envisages no need for human involvement, with many systems on board already automated. Archer has recently signed a $140 million deal with the US Department of Defence to look at how eVTOLs could be used in operations. It delivered the first Midnight aircraft to the US Air Force in August 2024. Neither Archer nor the US government has said if they see the aircraft being used in warfare, but Mr Goldstein gave an example of their use in rescue missions. “If you think about areas where there is contested space and you had to go rescue, let's say, soldiers, you might not want to fly in an unmanned vehicle,” he said. “But you could fly in an unmanned vehicle. And if those vehicles were also substantially lower cost, you're not risking expensive assets or people. There are opportunities here to build new vehicles that will be autonomous, that I think the world will benefit from.”
