A novel alliance that includes an electric aircraft maker, Related Ross and several South Florida airports said Wednesday they are poised to develop an air taxi service that would link Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Martin counties.
Archer Aviation of California, developer of a four-passenger electric vertical takeoff and landing [eVTOL] aircraft, says it intends to build an air taxi network connecting Miami, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, and Fort Lauderdale, with “low-noise” electric air taxi flights.
Related Ross, led by billionaire real estate developer and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, and Dragon Global, a lead investment firm in the Magic City Innovation District, a mixed-use development in the Little Haiti neighborhood, would help develop vertiports for the planned network, Archer said in a statement.
The network would extend from Miami-Dade County to Stuart in Martin County, and include all three of the region’s international airports, general aviation airports in Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton, and heliports at locations such as the Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Dolphins.
“The goal of Archer’s planned network is to connect major population and business centers, including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach via 10- to 20-minute electric flights, bypassing ground-based traffic and unlocking a new mobility ecosystem in the air that is safe and efficient,” Archer said.
“The network is also intended to offer efficient travel options between the region’s three major international airports: Miami International Airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, and Palm Beach International Airport, as well as several strategic general aviation airports in the area,” the company said.
Flights above gridlock
As South Florida has emerged over the years as a major center of domestic and international commerce populated by 6 million people, inter-county transportation has become a nightmare of extended commutes and daily gridlock on Interstate 95 and Florida’s Turnpike. Cross-county commuters are also plagued by similar experiences between the western suburbs and coastal downtown areas.
Passenger railroad solutions such as Brightline along the Florida East Coast Railway and Tri-Rail along a state-owned line west of I-95 offer a modicum of relief to some travelers. And county bus systems offer significant coverage for mainly lower-income riders in need of transportation. But despite large numbers of riders on the rail and bus lines, private automobiles remain the chief method of transportation for most South Floridians.
Gradual development
Even a large fleet of four-passenger air taxis probably wouldn’t play an immediate role in reducing traffic. But it could be an option for on-the-run businesspeople traveling to meetings, lawyers headed for court hearings and depositions, sports fans headed to athletic events, or travelers seeking a quick ride to and from an airport.
Various public and private sector interests have all toyed with the idea of using the tri-county’s air corridors to offer relief to drivers. The state of Florida has offered a site near Orlando to test aircraft under development.
Another firm, UrbanLink Air Mobility, a South Florida-based advanced air and maritime mobility operator, has teamed with Signature Aviation, operator of private aviation terminals worldwide, to explore scalable all-electric air operations across Florida using electric conventional takeoff and landing [eCTOL] aircraft. The two are also pursuing the establishment of an operations and maintenance base for UrbanLink at an unnamed South Florida airport.
But the development of networks for electric-powered aircraft has been slow to unfold amid federal regulatory challenges and other factors such as finding landing spots for vertiports and creating the right kind of aircraft to safely and efficiently fly above congested urban areas.
Flights by ‘Midnight’
Archer believes it has developed the right model. At a bayfront unveiling in Miami’s Coconut Grove section on Wednesday, as well as at a private preview for VIPs on Tuesday, the company introduced its electric-powered, propeller-driven “Midnight” aircraft.
Archer said its piloted Midnight aircraft is designed to carry four passengers and “has the potential to replace 60- to 90-minute commutes by car with 10- to 20-minute electric air taxi flights that are safe, sustainable, low-noise and cost-competitive with ground transportation.”
Based in Santa Clara, Calif., Archer, a public company whose shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, started in business in 2018, according to its website. It collaborated with the automaker Stellantis “on bringing advanced manufacturing techniques to aerospace,” and United Airlines became a flagship customer with a $1.5 billion order for “hundreds of our aircraft.”
In 2022, the firm “completed the transition from hover to full wing-borne flight with our first full-scale aircraft.” United later announced what Archer calls the “first commercial electric air taxi route in the U.S.” between Manhattan and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
In 2023, Archer started construction on a “high-volume manufacturing facility” in Georgia, and started a flight testing program for the Midnight.
Archer and United have since announced their intention to launch an air taxi service in Chicago; Archer also announced the United Arab Emirates and India as its “first planned international launch markets.”
The company says it built an initial fleet of air taxis “to be used in ‘for credit’ flight testing with the Federal Aviation Administration; it has received Part 145 and Part 135 certifications from the agency, which has also issued Midnight’s “final airworthiness criteria.”
It was not immediately clear on Wednesday how and when South Florida’s three international airports — as well as general aviation airports such as Fort Lauderdale Executive and Boca Raton airports — would be brought into the mix. The company also made no mention of what regulatory hurdles need to be cleared, and when the network might become active.
But the private sector participants Related Ross and Dragon Global both said through Archer’s statement that they are on board.
“Our partnership with Archer marks a pivotal step in expanding South Florida’s regional connectivity through cutting-edge technology,” said Stephen Ross, CEO and chairman of Related Ross. “We are integrating Archer’s electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft into our flagship locations across South Florida, including the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Related Ross developments in West Palm Beach, and Apogee Club in Hobe Sound. We’re excited to embrace a forward-thinking vision that transforms how people and businesses move across the region.”
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