Santa Clara, California: Archer Aviation Inc., a leader in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, on Wednesday announced its subsidiary, Archer Air, has received its Part 135 Air Carrier & Operator Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
This certificate allows Archer to begin operating aircraft commercially to refine its systems and procedures in advance of launching Midnight into service for airlines like United Airlines when it receives Midnight’s Type Certification.
Archer Aviation has also recently formed ties up with the UAE’s Etihad Training to recruit and train potential pilots.
Once done, these pilots will be able to man the Archer’s Midnight aircraft on the planned air taxi services between Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Archer plans to use conventional aircraft now to refine its systems and procedures in advance of launching Midnight into service when it receives Midnight’s Type Certification.
Archer will leverage its mobile booking application, vertiport technology integrations, and proprietary operations software platform all currently under development to deliver exceptional experiences and journeys for passengers
Receiving the Part 135 certificate signals that Archer Air has developed, and demonstrated to the FAA its adherence to the necessary policies and procedures to begin operating aircraft commercially in accordance with the stringent safety and operational standards set forth by the FAA.
“Today’s achievement is another key step that demonstrates Archer’s work with the FAA continues to gain momentum as Archer is now one of two air taxi manufacturers in the world to have announced receipt of a Part 135 certificate from the FAA,” the company said in a statement.
The other is Joby Aviation.
Part 135 | Part 145 certificates
In addition to its Part 135 certificate, Archer previously announced it has received its Part 145 certificate from the FAA allowing it to perform specialiSed aircraft repair services.
This means Archer has now received the two key operational certificates required from the FAA for it to be in a position to begin its air taxi operations when Midnight receives its Type Certification.
Pilots proficiency
The FAA also recently issued the final airworthiness criteria for the Midnight aircraft.
The completion of the Part 135 certification process involved five rigorous stages – which entailed the submission of extensive documentation of operational manuals and procedures, as well as Archer’s pilots needing to demonstrate proficiency with those manuals and procedures under FAA observation.
“We are honored to receive the Part 135 Air Carrier & Operator Certificate from the FAA, which is another important stepping stone on the way to commencing commercial air taxi operations with our Midnight aircraft,” said Adam Goldstein, Founder and CEO of Archer.
“This milestone reflects our team’s unwavering dedication to safety and operational excellence as we stand up one of the world’s first electric air taxi services for communities across the U.S. with a safe, sustainable and low noise transportation solution.”
“The pace of progress and innovation that Archer has achieved over the last few years is nothing short of impressive and today marks another key milestone in their journey to bring safe, sustainable, and low noise air taxi services to market,” said Mike Leskinen, United’s Chief Financial Officer.
“United Airlines extends our congratulations to Archer’s team on receiving their Part 135 Air Carrier & Operator Certificate. Together, we look forward to shaping the future of air transportation and delivering unparalleled flying experiences to United passengers.”
Collaboration
“We would like to thank the FAA for their ongoing collaboration with Archer and congratulate the Archer Air team on achieving this important milestone for the company,” said Tom Anderson, Archer Air’s Chief Operating Officer.
“Over my career, I’ve helped lead the buildout of JetBlue and Breeze Airways and now that Archer has its Part 135 and 145 Certificates from the FAA, I’m thrilled for our incredible team to commence operations on this innovative new air taxi service soon.”
Urban travel
Archer’s goal is to transform urban travel, replacing 60–90-minute commutes by car with estimated 10–20-minute electric air taxi flights that are safe, sustainable, low noise, and cost-competitive with ground transportation.
Archer’s Midnight is a piloted, four-passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights. Archer's team is based in Santa Clara, California.
