Archer Aviation and United Airlines Team Up on Airport Transportation

Air-taxi startup Archer Aviation and United Airlines are joining forces to offer rides from various locations around Manhattan to six nearby airports.

The Big Picture: NYC is notorious for its logjammed traffic, which makes driving to the airport a nightmare. By offering an air-taxi service that takes you directly to your United flight — for a steep price, no doubt — United passengers could majorly cut down on their commute times… and set the stage for a national expansion.

Behind the Trips: Archer and United want to reduce your two-hour drive to the airport to a five-to-15-minute flight.

• The service would provide transportation to JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, Westchester County Airport, Teterboro Airport, and Republic Airport.
• Archer’s all-electric, five-person “Midnight” VTOL aircraft would utilize existing helipads throughout Manhattan (East 34th Street, West 30th Street, etc.).
• Passengers will be able to book the air-taxi trips as an “add-on” to their United flights. A price has yet to be determined (although expect it to come somewhere in the ballpark of Blade’s $265/seat for helicopter transport).

The Future: Even though Archer is making its US commercial debut at the LA Olympics in 2028, there’s no launch date set for the NYC service… especially since the company still needs to get final FAA approval and do a test flight with an actual human pilot. But NYC remains the holy grail, because it’s the number-one helicopter-commuting city in the world, making it ground zero for disruption.

And considering recent tragedies with Manhattan’s helicopters, air taxis may be seen as a welcome upgrade… as long as the stretched-thin FAA can handle the extra traffic in the skies.