LanguagesArcher Aviation, one of the companies leading the global charge towards the certification and introduction of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, has announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Abu-Dhabi-based Etihad Training.
The agreement, announced at the Future Aviation Forum being held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between May 20 and 22, 2024, lays the groundwork for a commercial partnership that aims to recruit and train prospective pilots for Archer’s Midnight aircraft that will be based in Abu Dhabi and operate across the UAE.
Archer’s Midnight aircraft is a piloted, four-passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights. Archer’s goal is to transform urban travel, replacing 60 to 90-minute commutes by car with estimated 10 to 20-minute electric air taxi flights that are safe, sustainable, low-noise, and cost-competitive with ground transportation.
California-based Archer has been working with various entities within Abu Dhabi and Dubai to accelerate the operation of its air taxi services across the region. In March 2024, the eVTOL developer formed a partnership with the flight service operator Falcon Aviation to develop a vertiport network in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE to enable flights between the two cities.
Under the partnership, the two companies will develop vertiport infrastructure in the region that will cut the two-hour car journey between Dubai and Abu Dhabi during peak times to 30 minutes by eVTOL. Vertiports will be located at Falcon Heliport at Atlantis, the Palm in Dubai, and the Marina Mall heliport in Abu Dhabi’s Corniche.
Meanwhile, in April 2024, Archer and the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) signed an agreement that will accelerate Archer’s planned commercial air taxi operations in the UAE, slated to launch as early as 2025.
“Training a fleet of pilots to operate our aircraft is a critically important part of our efforts to establish a thriving urban air mobility network in Abu Dhabi and the rest of the UAE, and Etihad Training is the premier organization to partner with on this front,” said Archer’s Chief Commercial Officer, Nikhil Goel.
“As Etihad Training’s first eVTOL partner, we will commence a thoughtful recruiting process and begin to train the first class of qualified pilots to operate Archer’s Midnight aircraft for commercial operations within the region,” he added.
“Etihad Aviation Training today recruits and trains pilots to fly with dozens of global airlines,” commented Etihad Training’s CEO, Captain Paolo La Cava. “We couldn’t be more excited to choose Archer as our first eVTOL partner to recruit and train the first class of electric air taxi pilots to fly Archer’s Midnight aircraft right here in Abu Dhabi as soon as 2025. We look forward to installing the Archer Midnight flight simulator in our facilities later this year.”
As part of the planned partnership, Archer intends to deliver a Midnight aircraft simulator to be housed and staffed by Etihad Training at its training center in Abu Dhabi for research and development of pilot training competencies, to support the required regulatory certifications.
Additionally, Etihad Training will engage with the General Civil Aviation Authority of the UAE to establish appropriate pilot training requirements in support of safe and efficient operations of Archer’s aircraft across the region.
