An Archer Aviation pilot flew its Midnight aircraft approximately 55 miles in the skies above Salinas, California, where its test facility is based at the Salinas Municipal Airport. 

The air taxi flew for 31 minutes, its longest piloted flight to date. It reached air speeds over 126 mph, Archer said. Although capable of vertical takeoff and landing, the aircraft performed a conventional runway takeoff and landing for this flight. 

According to Archer, this marks another step toward Federal Aviation Administration certification in the U.S. “Crossing the 50-mile mark at speed is another clear step toward commercialization that shows the maturity of our program,” Archer Founder and CEO Adam Goldstein said in a statement.

The test pilot, who was not named, said “the aircraft performed consistently, with predictable handling.” The pilot was the only person on board. United Airlines Chief Financial Officer Mike Leskinen, who witnessed the flight, said he “was impressed by how quiet the aircraft was.” United is an investor in Archer.

Archer said test flights will continue, extending speed and duration, and it will conduct flights that mimic expected early commercial operations.

Joby Aviation said it will acquire helicopter and seaplane operator Blade Air Mobility, giving it access to Blade’s terminals and passengers in the New York City area and Southern Europe. Blade has facilities at John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty Airport, along with heliports on the West and East Sides of Manhattan and Wall Street. Blade will continue its current operations while gradually transitioning to Joby’s electric air taxis once the Federal Aviation Administration certifies them to carry passengers.

“With the acquisition of Blade, we're accelerating our readiness for commercial [electric vertical takeoff and landing] operations globally,” Joby founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt said on the company’s August 6 earnings call. “On day one post-certification, Joby will have the infrastructure team and routes to start electrified service in key U.S. and international markets.”

Blade carried more than 50,000 passengers in 2024 across all of its markets. That gives Joby access to a “deep and loyal customer base,” Bevirt said. “The plan is simple. We take the existing Blade operations, and we add eVTOL.”

“Blade was founded with the mission of democratising short-distance air travel by facilitating the transition from conventional rotorcraft to quiet, emissions-free electric aircraft,” the company’s founder and CEO Rob Wiesenthal said in a news release.

Wisk Aero, Boeing’s air taxi subsidiary, plans to begin autonomous commercial flights in Houston, Los Angeles and Miami by 2030 if possible, the company’s partnerships manager, J.C. Asencio, said in an interview.

In June Miami became the most recent addition to Wisk Aero’s list, which also includes Brisbane, Australia, and the City of Kaga, Ishikawa, Japan.

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Archer Aviation began the first test flights of its Midnight air taxi with a pilot on board, the company announced June 2, 2025, following over 400 autonomous flights in 2024. The electrically powered vertical takeoff and landing aircraft reached an altitude of over 1,500 feet above ground level at a speed of up to 125 mph, the company said in a press release. 

Archer Chief Test Pilot Jeff Greenwood was at the aircraft’s controls during the test flight over Salinas, California. “Everything responded exactly as we trained for, which is exactly what you hope for during a test flight,” Greenwood said in a statement.

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The Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2028, branded as LA28, selected Archer Aviation as the official air taxi provider of the next summer games to be held in Southern California. 

Archer plans to serve the event from a network of vertiports adjacent to Olympic venues including the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and sites in Hollywood, Orange County and Santa Monica, California. Archer also plans to operate from Los Angeles International Airport. The agreement includes support for Team USA through LA28. 

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Joby Aviation reported April 29, 2025, that it had accomplished flights of its electrically powered vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with a full transition from vertical to cruise flight, and back again, with a pilot onboard. The first flight took place April 22, with more to follow.

The air taxi manufacturer said it has reached 62% of the fourth of five stages in the Federal Aviation Administration’s certification process. Joby founder and Chief Executive Officer JoeBen Bevirt said on the company’s May 7 earnings call that he expects to begin flights for the FAA’s Type Inspection Authorization within 12 months.

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Archer Aviation today disclosed its plans for an air taxi network serving the New York City region’s major airports from Manhattan helipads using electrically powered vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.

In partnership with United Airlines, the proposed air taxi service would transport Manhattan travelers to airports including Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and New York City’s LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport within five to 15 minutes, Archer said.

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The first passenger-carrying flights for two U.S.-based air taxi developers, Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation, are likely to be in the Middle East later in 2025, the companies said on recent earnings calls­. Joby plans to launch in Dubai while Archer signed Abu Dhabi Aviation as its first launch partner.

Neither aircraft manufacturer has completed the final phase of the Federal Aviation Administration’s type certification process, which is the approval of the aircraft’s design and components. According to Archer Aviation Founder and CEO Adam Goldstein, the FAA’s concerns center around how the industry deals with emergency landing for these kinds of aircraft.

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Archer Aviation announced Dec. 19, 2024, that it received the certificate of occupancy for its approximately 400,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Covington, Georgia. The air taxi developer said it plans to begin initial production in early 2025. Archer aims to manufacture two aircraft per month by the end of next year. By 2030, it plans to produce 650 electric takeoff and landing aircraft annually.

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Air taxi developers are moving closer to starting passenger flights in select U.S. and international cities. They may get a boost from President-elect Donald Trump, who said in a video last year, “I want to ensure that America, not China, leads this revolution in air mobility.”

During separate investor calls this month, Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation CEOs outlined plans to introduce electric-powered vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, with backing from global automakers Stellantis and Toyota.

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Air taxis, aerial drones and other forms of advanced air mobility aircraft may soon be flying over many U.S. cities. These emerging technologies can bring benefits to urban areas but require city leaders to be ready. “All cities should be prepared for this,” said Orlando, Florida, Mayor Buddy Dyer. “You want to be prepared for changes in technology and how they will affect your land use regulations [and] your zoning.”

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The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday published a new rule establishing pilot certification and operation requirements for electric vertical takeoff and landing and other powered-lift aircraft planned for use as air taxis. These aircraft operate like both helicopters and airplanes. The new rule sets out requirements for training pilots and instructors in single-pilot operation, including the use of flight simulators for training, as well as minimum safe altitudes and required visibility for flight.

Leading air taxi developers Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation applauded the FAA’s rulemaking. The regulation “will ensure the U.S. continues to play a global leadership role in the development and adoption of clean flight,” JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby Aviation, said in an Oct. 22 statement.

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Toyota Motor Corp. has agreed to invest another $500 million in Joby Aviation to support the certification and commercial production of electric air taxis, according to a Oct. 2 press release. The funding, which will be awarded in two equal tranches, will bring the automaker’s total investment in the startup to $894 million since 2019.

"The knowledge and support shared by Toyota has been instrumental in Joby's success and we look forward to deepening our relationship as we deliver on our shared vision for the future of air travel,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby Aviation.

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Archer Aviation announced plans June 20, 2024, for an air mobility network across the San Francisco Bay Area, including a waterfront terminal combining a vertiport for electric takeoff and landing aircraft and an electric ferry service. A second air taxi company, Joby Aviation, said in a June 4 press release that it acquired the autonomy division of Xwing, a technology developer for ground-supervised uncrewed aircraft without onboard pilots.

These and other actions to advance urban air mobility from these two major air taxi firms come as the Federal Aviation Administration anticipates the industry maturing, resulting in increasing use of remotely-piloted and fully autonomous aircraft in the U.S.

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Some cities have already begun planning for the advent of air taxis — those electrically powered aircraft that can take off and land vertically like a helicopter — while others are shying away from the idea. That’s according to Adam Cohen, survey researcher at the Berkeley Transportation Sustainability Research Center and an author of a newly released report on planning for advanced air mobility from the American Planning Association.

Developers of these eVTOL aircraft are moving forward rapidly, with some planning to begin commercial operations as soon as 2025. The Federal Aviation Administration published guidelines for the operation of air taxis in the nation’s airspace last year, expecting growth to accelerate beginning in 2028.

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