IndiGo’s IGE plans to operate electric air taxis in India, ties ups with US-based Archer
Come 2026 and IndiGo parent InterGlobe Enterprises (IGE) plans to launch and operate an all-electric taxi air service in India, in 2026. It has tied up with a leading California-based electric air taxi company, Archer Aviation, that is backed by the likes of Boeing, United Airlines and auto major Stellantis. The partnership plans to finance the purchase of up to 200 of Archer’s electric vertical take off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft — Midnight — for the India operations.
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 about seven minutes, IGE said in a statement. Midnight is a pilot plus four-passenger vehicle with a range of about 150 km that is designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights and is expected to enter commercial service in 2025 in the US.
IndiGo and Archer intend to work together to operate Archer’s aircraft, finance and build vertiport infrastructure, and train pilots and other personnel needed for these operations, subject to appropriate regulatory approvals and clearances. InterGlobe Group MD Rahul Bhatia and Archer CCO Nikhil Goel Thursday signed an MoU to “form a proposed partnership through which the parties aim to provide a revolutionary transportation solution for the country, improving urban mobility with safe, sustainable, and low-noise electric air taxi service that is cost-competitive with ground transportation.”
Apart from urban air taxis, the two companies “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.”
Rahul Bhatia said: “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. We are excited at this new opportunity of bringing an effective, futuristic and sustainable transport solution by introducing Archer’s electric aircraft to India.”
Archer CCO Nikhil Goel said: “At Archer, our goal is to make cities greener, smarter, more efficient places to live. We couldn’t be more excited to be partnering with Rahul and the InterGlobe team to bring our Midnight aircraft to Indian cities and fundamentally transform mobility across the country, with the goal of starting with Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.”
Goel had last month told TOI India will be one of the biggest markets for urban air mobility. And that apart from having its eVTOLs operating here, Archer will consider making them here to lower the cost to ensure affordable city flying.
Archer’s major investors include United that apart from equity investment has placed a firm order for 200 eVTOLs worth $1 billon (Rs 8,000 crore) and has an option to order 100 more. Boeing is on board and is bringing in autonomous technology for our future gen eVTOLs. Stellantis (Amsterdam-based automotive manufacturing company formed by merging of the Italian–American Fiat Chrysler and the French PSA Group) has also invested and is helping bring in best practices for high volume manufacturing, Goel had told TOI. Archer and United have jointly announced their first route that will connect Downtown Manhattan and Newark Liberty International Airport.
Incidentally Boeing is developing its own eVTOIL Wisk that is the airspace major says will be the “world’s first self-flying, (autonomous) all-electric, four-seater air taxi.” While autonomous air taxis are a while away, possibly towards the end of this decade, manned eVTOLs like the ones Archer is developing are aiming for an entry into service within the next two years.
Urban congestion is all set to wiser in coming years as the World Bank projects that urban population will more than double by 2050 with short road commutes taking up to 2 hours in many of the world’s largest cities. That’s why urban air mobility is being seen as a viable option for tackle the future challenge of urban commuting.
Archer’s CEO & founder Adam Goldstein said: “I founded Archer with the vision to help decongest the world’s largest cities. India is one of, if not the largest opportunity for eVTOL aircraft utilisation 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,” commented, “Archer’s all-electric Midnight aircraft is designed to provide a revolutionary transportation solution that can help address these congestion issues.”
