United Airlines and electric aircraft manufacturer Archer Aviation have announced a second air taxi route.
The pair plans to fly between Chicago's city center and O'Hare International Airport starting in 2025.
Archer's four-seater air taxi is known as Midnight and can complete the flight in 10 minutes.
United Airlines and electric aircraft manufacturer Archer Aviation have announced another approved air tax route in the US.United Airlines Boeing wide body 777-200 aircraft.
Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Starting in 2025, United passengers will be able to connect from Chicago's city center to O'Hare International Airport using Archer's 4-seater electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft known as Midnight.
Specifically, the route will fly between O'Hare — the US' third busiest airport — and Vertiport Chicago, which is a helicopter facility located in the Illinois Medical District west of the Loop.Traditional helicopters are currently used to connect to the heliport to O'Hare.
According to Archer, the flight will take approximately 10 minutes, allowing passengers to avoid congested city traffic, noting "a similar trip by car can take upwards of an hour or more during rush hour."Archer's Midnight eVTOL.
"Once operational, we're excited to offer our customers a more sustainable, convenient, and cost-effective mode of transportation during their commutes to the airport," United United Airlines Ventures president Michael Leskinen said.
The Chicago route will complement the duo's already announced flight between downtown Manhattan to Newark Liberty International Airport — a major United hub.United aircraft at Newark.
The New York City route is the first-ever commercial eVTOL route announced in the US, marking a major milestone in urban air mobility — a market airlines see as a promising way to reduce their carbon footprint and offer more convenience to customers.Delta made a $60 million investment into Joby Aviation's eVTOL (pictured) in October 2022.
"This exciting new technology will further decarbonize our means of transportation, taking us another step forward in our fight against climate change," Chicago mayor Lori E. Lightfoot said.A rendering of Archer's planned production plant in Georgia.
To operate these routes, United has agreed to buy up to 200 Midnight eVTOLs in a deal worth $1 billion. The aircraft can carry up to four people, their luggage, and one pilot…
…and fly up to 150 miles per hour across 100 miles. However, Archer said Midnight has been optimized to fly back-to-back flights of about 20 miles with a rapid 12-minute recharge time in between.The powertrain system in Archer's Midnight eVTOL, which allows for the rapid recharge time.
The company believes the cost to take the eVTOL will be "competitive with ground-based ride share."The eVTOL will compete with companies like Uber and Lyft.
Powering the aircraft are six independent batteries that each support a pair of electric engines, which Archer says enhances safety because if one battery pack fails, the others will still run.
"Midnight has no single critical points of failure, meaning that should any single component fail, the aircraft can still safely complete its flight," the company said in a press release.
Not only will Midnight be a safe and efficient way to save time, but it is also a low-noise alternative to taking a helicopter — a nuisance New York City locals have long complained about.Blade offers helicopter rides throughout New York City.
Designed to cruise at 2,000 feet, the noise from Midnight that reaches that ground will be almost 1,000 times quieter than a conventional helicopter, according to Archer.
Midnight was officially revealed in November, but the first aircraft is already almost completely built. Archer plans to start test flights in mid-2023 as part of the aircraft's certification process.Archer's in-production Midnight eVTOL.
Prior to Midnight, the company was flight-testing its prototype aircraft known as Maker. A spokesperson told Insider in August 2022 that some of the same designs were applied to Midnight.Maker is a smaller 2-seater electric aircraft.
"A lot goes on behind the scenes to advance the development of our aircraft as efficiently as we have," Archer CEO Tom Muniz said in early March.Archer Aviation Midnight.
