Archer Aviation and ITA Airways have signed an agreement to partner on an electric air taxi network in Italy that could connect major airports with city centres using Archer's Midnight aircraft. ITA Airways, part of the Lufthansa Group, is the first European carrier to join Archer's international network of airline partners.
The companies will explore electric vertical takeoff and landing services in major Italian cities, with Rome among the potential locations. Archer says its Midnight aircraft could shorten journeys that now take 60 to 90 minutes by road to flights lasting 10 to 20 minutes, including a proposed connection between Rome Fiumicino (FCO) Airport and the city centre that could take less than 10 minutes by air compared with about an hour by car. ITA Airways will help develop the network by coordinating with aviation and transport stakeholders and exploring how air taxi services could connect with its existing operations; the carrier serves more than 70 destinations worldwide, and specialist partners would operate the aircraft. Midnight is designed for short journeys between airports and urban destinations and for frequent, consecutive flights, offering an alternative to road transport in congested metropolitan areas, and it produces no direct emissions during flight, although its overall environmental impact will depend partly on the electricity used to charge it. Archer recently conducted several days of piloted demonstration flights in California's San Francisco Bay Area, including flights between Oakland and San Francisco's Marina District that took about 10 minutes.
The ITA Airways agreement adds another airline to Archer's international partners, which already include United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Japan Airlines, Korean Air and Ethiopian Airlines, and follows work with United on a proposed New York network, with Southwest at California airports, with Korean Air as an exclusive partner in South Korea, with Japan Airlines and Sumitomo Corporation's Soracle joint venture in Japan, and with Ethiopian Airlines under Archer's Launch Edition programme. Archer pointed to Italy's tourism market as an opportunity, noting that Rome Fiumicino crossed 50 million passengers last year for the first time. The proposed services will depend on obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals, finalising operating arrangements and building supporting infrastructure.