Archer is conducting weekly test flights of its earliest vehicle, according to its website, but whether the future includes skies dotted with electric taxis depends on whether Archer can get past several major hurdles. The company has to prove its electric-powered aircraft work can be produced on an affordable scale and get regulatory approval to take to the skies.
“We want to be very careful. We want to be very measured,” FAA acting administrator Billy Nolen said recently on “60 Minutes” about approving aircraft like the ones Archer is producing. But “this is real. This is happening. We’ve come a long way from where we were just a mere decade ago.”
“These are trips that are less than 100 miles and we’ll use these aircraft to replace trips on the ground that are taking 60 to 90 minutes,” Goldstein said, citing the trek from Manhattan to Newark airport in New Jersey as an example.
A United spokesperson, however, notes that the Hollywood to LAX and the Manhattan to Newark routes are just an example, and United has not yet laid out specific plans for where it will roll out the service.
Still, there may be other hurdles. Archer will need to find a large enough customer base that can afford its services, scale its business, sell the public on the safety of its aircraft, and, of course, do it all without running out of cash.
