Archer Aviation plans to link six Dallas-Fort Worth airports with destinations including Frisco Station through an electric air-taxi network, part of a three-city Texas proposal the company announced October 23.
The company projects 10- to 20-minute flights aboard its all-electric Midnight aircraft for trips that can take 60 to 90 minutes by road.
Archer designed Midnight to carry a pilot and up to four passengers at speeds up to 150 mph.
Six airports in the plan
The proposed North Texas network includes Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas Love Field, Addison Airport, Arlington Municipal Airport, Fort Worth Meacham International Airport and Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport.
Archer identified Hillwood as a partner and Frisco Station, the development surrounding The Star, as a planned business destination.
“Texas is setting the bar for America’s leadership in the next generation of aviation,” Archer founder and CEO Adam Goldstein said in the company’s release.
Other proposed destinations include Galveston and Houston’s Thompson Hotel helipad, along with Austin’s Circuit of the Americas helipad.
Fares and launch date remain unsettled
Archer did not announce a passenger-service launch date or publish fares. A Frisco-to-Fort Worth trip could cost about $100 to $150, depending on the time of day, comparable to Uber Black, according to KRLD’s coverage of an interview with Nikhil Goel, Archer’s chief commercial officer.
Those figures remain estimates. The station also described possible Archer testing in Texas as early as 2027 without identifying a confirmed passenger-service opening.
Texas testing already underway
Texas launched Project Nexus in September to test next-generation aviation operations, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The three-year program begins with route testing using traditional helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. Those initial flights carry no passengers.
Later phases envision medical and cargo transportation, including critical supplies and transplant organs, before passenger air-taxi flights.
Project Nexus operates under the Trump administration’s federal aviation pilot program. The FAA will use testing data to develop regulations for safe operations at scale, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. September’s Fort Worth launch featured demonstrations by Joby Aviation and BETA Technologies.
Participation in the federal pilot program does not bypass aircraft certification requirements, according to an FAA fact sheet.
Provided by Dallas Express
