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eVTOL
InterGlobe, Archer Aviation aim to electric air taxi service across India in 2026
November 9, 2023 By Wings Staff
Archer Aviation’s current Midnight eVTOL production aircraft carries four passengers and one pilot for up to nearly 100 kilometres at speeds of up to 241 km/h. (Photo: Archer Aviation) InterGlobe Enterprises, a travel and hospitality conglomerate, and Archer Aviation entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the goal of launching and operating an all-electric air taxi service in India, subject to appropriate regulatory approvals and clearances.
The parties explain they intend to work with select in-country business partners to operate Archer’s aircraft, finance and build vertiport infrastructure, and train pilots and other personnel needed for these operations. The partnership also plans to finance the purchase of up to 200 of Archer’s Midnight aircraft for the India operations.
Archer’s Midnight aircraft is a piloted, four-passenger electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights. The goal is for a passenger on an InterGlobe-Archer flight to be able to fly the 27-km Delhi trip from Connaught Place to Gurugram, typically taking 60 to 90 minutes by car, in approximately seven minutes.
In addition to urban air taxi services, the parties plan to pursue a variety of other use cases for the electric aircraft in India, including cargo, logistics, medical and emergency services, as well as private company and charter services.
“Over the last two decades, InterGlobe has been involved in providing safe, efficient, and affordable transportation to hundreds of millions of Indians across the country,” said Rahul Bhatia, Group Managing Director of InterGlobe. “We are excited at this new opportunity of bringing an effective, futuristic and sustainable transport solution by introducing Archer’s electric aircraft to India.”
“I founded Archer with the vision to help decongest the world’s largest cities,” said Archer’s CEO and Founder, Adam Goldstein. “India is one of, if not the largest opportunity for eVTOL aircraft utilization in the world, as it is home to the world’s largest population of over 1.4 billion people and its largest cities face some of the greatest congestion challenges in the world. Archer’s all-electric Midnight aircraft is designed to provide a revolutionary transportation solution that can help address these congestion issues.”
