Dive Brief:
- Archer Aviation received its Market Survey Special Airworthiness Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration, the air taxi company announced Monday. It will begin flying in Los Angeles “in the coming weeks,” CEO Adam Goldstein said during Monday’s Q3 earnings call.
- Archer is the second developer to earn the market survey certificate, after Beta Technologies received theirs last month. The certificate allows the companies to conduct flights with pilots and passengers from commercial airports within a prescribed geographic area.
- Joby Aviation has applied for the survey certificate on some of its aircraft, Chief Policy Officer Gregory Bowles said on the company’s Nov. 4 earnings call.
Dive Insight:
The three companies are moving closer to FAA type certification and commercial operations as they begin passenger flights under the market survey certificate and conduct piloted flights in cities and states across the country.
Beta made its first flight under the certificate on Oct. 20, departing Plattsburgh International Airport in New York and landing at Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport in Vermont.
New York City, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Florida and Texas had or will soon get demonstration flights. Joby flew demonstration flights of its aircraft in New York City in April, North Texas in September and in Florida last week. Archer conducted a series of piloted flights in the San Francisco Bay Area in October and plans to tour Texas, Florida and New York, Goldstein said.
Archer is putting together a cluster of vertiports across Los Angeles in preparation for its role as the official air taxi company for the 2028 Summer Olympics. It has negotiated agreements with the University of Southern California, SoFi Stadium, Hollywood Burbank Airport and AEG, the sports and entertainment company that owns and operates L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles. It acquired Hawthorne Municipal Airport in Los Angeles County last year to serve as its LA hub.
“In under a year, we have upgraded the terminal building, brought electric aircraft charging to the airport and begun construction on 11 new hangars,” Goldstein said. “Los Angeles is where we are writing the blueprint for every city that follows.”
Beta, an aircraft, defense and electric charging infrastructure company, said it expanded its charging network to 168 sites, exceeding its year-end target of 150, CEO and President Kyle Clark said on the company’s earnings call. “These aren't urban showcase installations. They are in the communities our … operators serve: hospitals, regional airports, emergency response staging areas. That infrastructure is where the missions are.”
