Southwest latest to aim at electric air taxi dream with Archer partnership

Updated Southwest Airlines and Archer Aviation have penned a preliminary deal the pair hope will give them a slice of the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi action* in future California skies.

The corporations signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) "to develop operational plans for electric air taxi networks … at California airports where Southwest operates," the pair said today. Southwest claims to be California's largest air carrier, operating at 14 airports in the state, each of which the airline thinks will eventually offer short flights in Archer Midnight aircraft.

The eVTOLs are seen as an emissions-free alternative to passenger transportation to and from airports.

"Southwest is eager to explore the convenience Archer's air taxis could provide customers flying Southwest at airports in busy urban areas," said Southwest's VP for real estate, Paul Cullen. "Integrating Archer's electric aircraft into the travel journey potentially gives us an innovative opportunity to enhance the experience of flying Southwest." 

Given this is just an MoU, the duo propose to collaborate on "a concept of operations" for their shared vision, and said they plan to involve Southwest employees and their respective unions in the process "to maintain and improve efficient operations."

The SWA Pilots Association (SWAPA), one of the unions that would be involved in that process, told The Register that to date it has only been told the pair were in talks. 

If the MoU ends up leading to a full-fledged air taxi deal, SWAPA would have to be involved, a spokesperson told us, because adding air taxis to SWA's fleet would violate the scope of work in the current contract between the airline and its pilots, which isn't due for renewal until 2029. 

*Dreams, meet reality

If you've kept abreast of the latest developments in the eVTOL industry, you'd know that Southwest has become just the latest company to put its air taxi cart before its Federal Aviation Administration horse. 

That's not to say aviation companies shouldn't plan for the future, just that the rush to commercialize eVTOLs before a single one has been certified might be premature.

Archer is hardly the only company operating in the space, with firms including Joby, Volocopter, Wisk, and others all trying to get commercial taxi-sized passenger eVTOLs flying - and Archer isn't even leading the FAA race for operational approval. 

Joby Aviation appears to be leading the pack when it comes to FAA certification, with a limited flight license granted to the company last year. Archer, on the other hand, only just received permission from the FAA to operate as an air carrier - something Joby achieved in 2022. 

• FAA proposes air taxi pilot licensing plans, sans actual air taxis
• Boeing-backed air taxi upstart Wisk plans to fly you across town at UberX prices by 2030
• From yellow cabs to sky cabs: Air taxis take a Big Apple test flight
• US Air Force burns more money on electric flying taxis

Joby has also partnered with an airline on air taxi plans, announcing a deal with Delta not long after receiving its air carrier certification, similar to Archer's SWA partnership. 

It appears Joby has another leg up on Archer in terms of being more than a giant drone, too: It doesn't look like Archer has managed to get one of its crafts in the air with a human on board yet. Archer's production-model Midnight aircraft recently achieved transition from VTOL to flight configuration, and is still planning to fly with a pilot sometime this year. 

Joby and Archer appear to be the furthest through the justifiably complex slog that is FAA aircraft certification, and they may still be years from commercialization. The FAA has a page available where visitors can track the air taxi certification process, but told us it wouldn't comment on any particular approvals. 

"We have the regulations in place that allow manufacturers to achieve our safety standards in innovative ways," an FAA spokesperson told us. "We will be ready for air taxi operators when they are ready to fly safely."

Both companies, meanwhile, have continued their trend of considerable quarterly losses; Archer fared slightly worse than Joby in the first quarter of 2024, with a net loss of $116.5 million. 

Southwest told us this partnership with Archer is its first experimentation with eVTOLs, and that it doesn't have a timeline for when LAX passengers can expect an Archer Midnight to pick them up for that redeye flight. Archer didn't respond to questions. ®

Updated at 16.36 UTC on July 16, 2024, to add:

A spokesperson at Archer Aviation sent us the following statement:

"In June, Archer received its Part 135 Air Carrier & Operator Certificate from the 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 and Southwest when it receives Midnight’s Type Certification.

"We are now in the final phase of certification with the FAA known as the 'implementation phase' and plan to begin crewed 'for credit' testing with the FAA next year which are the final sets of flight tests we are required to pass prior to obtaining Type Certification for our Midnight aircraft.

"Now that we have the MOU in place, both teams will begin collaborating closely on next steps."