ITA Airways and Archer study a network of electric air taxis in Italy
ITA Airways and Archer Aviation have signed a collaboration agreement to evaluate the development in Italy of a network of fully electric air taxis, destined in the future to connect airports, urban centers and other strategic destinations.
The project revolves around the Midnight, the electric aircraft developed by Archer to carry out short and consecutive flights with zero emissions. The goal is to significantly reduce the time of land travel in the most congested urban areas.
According to the example given by the two companies, a journey that can now take about an hour by car between Rome Fiumicino airport and the center of Rome could be covered in less than 10 minutes of flight. More generally, Archer aims to replace road routes of 60-90 minutes with air connections of about 10-20 minutes.
Integrated connections with ITA Airways flights
ITA Airways' role will be above all to study how to integrate these future services into its network and the overall passenger experience. The goal is to create a more continuous path between scheduled flights and travel to and from the airport, entrusting the operational management of air taxis to specialized partners. The company and Archer will explore different solutions before defining the product for customers. The agreement does not currently indicate a commercial start date or the cities in which the service will actually be introduced.
The Midnight aircraft
The Midnight is designed to make fast, all-electric urban connections. Archer recently tested the aircraft in the San Francisco Bay Area, including flying between Oakland and San Francisco's Marina District lasting about 10 minutes.
With the partnership, ITA Airways becomes the first European carrier to join Archer's global network of partner airlines, which already includes commercial initiatives in the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
