Dubai: Launch of full-scale air taxi services in the UAE is coming closer on the horizon with a new ‘framework agreement’ between Archer Aviation and Abu Dhabi Investment Office.
This will see Archer, which is into electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, take on in-country manufacturing, launch operations and training required before the services are launched.
As things stand now, the plan is to have these services up in the air ‘as soon as next year’.
“Archer has partnered with Falcon Aviation and Air Chateau to be our in-market air taxi operators,” said Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of the company. “Falcon Aviation and Air Cheateau have locations in both Emirates and ADIO has commited to building additional vertiport infrastructure in Abu Dhabi
“Early operations will utilize a handful of aircraft. As manufacturing ramps up, the number of aircraft flying in market will scale accordingly.”
With the framework agreement in place, ADIO will support the development of vertiports, in collaboration with Archer and other air taxi operators, in locations throughout Abu Dhabi. Doing so would enhance the ‘urban air mobility infrastructure necessary for Archer to scale operations’.
Opening up whole new ways of travel
It was last year that the possibilities of air taxi services between major cities in the UAE using eVTOL aircraft showed up realizable business possibilities. These aircraft would operate at cruising altitude of 2,000 feet and the time for a flight will be between 10-30 minutes.
“Abu Dhabi is leading the way in accelerating the launch of electric air taxis globally,” said Badr Al-Olama, Director-General of ADIO.
“We are excited to support Archer toward establishing its international headquarters in Abu Dhabi, and to develop a comprehensive investment framework that will accelerate its progress towards manufacturing and operating its ‘Midnight’ aircraft in the UAE.”
The Archer Midnight aircraft can fit four passengers and a pilot on any one trip. Archer is flying Its Midnight prototype regularly at our flight test facility in Salinas, California,” said the CEO. “And on track to complete the first piloted, conforming eVTOL aircraft in the industry later this year.
“Our data science team does a tremendous amount of research and modeling to determine the best routes and locations in each market, so (that) we have a data-backed operational plan for each city we bring online.”
Feasible business model?
What the likely fares on a route such as Abu Dhabi-Dubai have not been set. “There are still more details to hash out before we can comfortably do so,” said Goldstein. “The projected operating economics support price per passenger mile costs similar to that of an ‘Uber Black Car’ with the pricing coming down to ‘Uber X’ equivalents as operations scale.” (Uber Black Car relates to a more luxury focused vehicle and service than is the norm.)
The Archer Aviation’s target is to replace 60- to 90-minute car commutes with estimated 10- to 20-minute electric air taxi flights that are ‘safe, sustainable, low noise, and cost-competitive with ground transportation’.
The Midnight aircraft are designed for back-to-back flights with ‘minimal charge time between flights’.
“With the support of its early investor and UAE’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, Archer’s partner operators Falcon Aviation and Air Chateau, and GAL-AMMROC have announced plans to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul support for the eVTOL aircraft,” said a statement.
