Archer Receives FAA Certification to Begin Operating Commercial Airline

June 05, 2024 at 09:00 AM EDT

Today Archer announced that it has received its Part 135 Air Carrier & Operator Certificate from the FAA
Archer is one of two air taxi manufacturers in the world to have announced receipt of a Part 135 certification from the FAA
Archer plans to use conventional aircraft now to refine its systems and procedures in advance of launching Midnight into service when it receives Midnight’s Type Certification
Archer will leverage its mobile booking application, vertiport technology integrations, and proprietary operations software platform all currently under development to deliver exceptional experiences and journeys for passengers

Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE:ACHR), a leader in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, today announced its subsidiary, Archer Air, has received its Part 135 Air Carrier & Operator Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This certificate allows Archer to begin operating aircraft commercially to refine its systems and procedures in advance of launching Midnight into service for airlines like United Airlines when it receives Midnight’s Type Certification. Receiving the Part 135 certificate signals that Archer Air has developed, and demonstrated to the FAA its adherence to, the necessary policies and procedures to begin operating aircraft commercially in accordance with the stringent safety and operational standards set forth by the FAA. Today’s achievement is another key step that demonstrates Archer’s work with the FAA continues to gain momentum as Archer is now one of two air taxi manufacturers in the world to have announced receipt of a Part 135 certificate from the FAA.

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The FAA presenting Archer’s Airline Team and representatives from United with Archer’s Part 135 Certificate. (Photo: Business Wire)

In addition to its Part 135 certificate, Archer previously announced it has received its Part 145 certificate from the FAA allowing it to perform specialized aircraft repair services. This means Archer has now received the two key operational certificates required from the FAA for it to be in a position to begin its air taxi operations when Midnight receives its Type Certification. The FAA also recently issued the final airworthiness criteria for the Midnight aircraft. The completion of the Part 135 certification process involved five rigorous stages, which entailed the submission of extensive documentation of operational manuals and procedures, as well as Archer’s pilots needing to demonstrate proficiency with those manuals and procedures under FAA observation.

"We are honored to receive the Part 135 Air Carrier & Operator Certificate from the FAA, which is another important stepping stone on the way to commencing commercial air taxi operations with our Midnight aircraft," said Adam Goldstein, Founder and CEO of Archer. "This milestone reflects our team's unwavering dedication to safety and operational excellence as we stand up one of the world’s first electric air taxi services for communities across the U.S. with a safe, sustainable and low noise transportation solution.”

"The pace of progress and innovation that Archer has achieved over the last few years is nothing short of impressive and today marks another key milestone in their journey to bring safe, sustainable, and low noise air taxi services to market," said Mike Leskinen, United’s Chief Financial Officer. "United Airlines extends our congratulations to Archer’s team on receiving their Part 135 Air Carrier & Operator Certificate. Together, we look forward to shaping the future of air transportation and delivering unparalleled flying experiences to United passengers."

“We would like to thank the FAA for their ongoing collaboration with Archer and congratulate the Archer Air team on achieving this important milestone for the company,” said Tom Anderson, Archer Air’s Chief Operating Officer. “Over my career, I’ve helped lead the buildout of JetBlue and Breeze Airways and now that Archer has its Part 135 and 145 Certificates from the FAA, I’m thrilled for our incredible team to commence operations on this innovative new air taxi service soon.”

Archer’s goal is to transform urban travel, replacing 60–90-minute commutes by car with estimated 10–20-minute electric air taxi flights that are safe, sustainable, low noise, and cost-competitive with ground transportation. Archer’s Midnight is a piloted, four-passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights.

About Archer

Archer is designing and developing electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft for use in urban air mobility networks. Archer’s mission is to unlock the skies, freeing everyone to reimagine how they move and spend time. Archer's team is based in Santa Clara, CA. To learn more, visit www.archer.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward looking statements regarding Archer’s business plans and expectations, including statements regarding its aircraft performance and the timing of Archer’s development, certification and commercialization of its eVTOL aircraft. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors. The risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the results predicted are more fully detailed in Archer’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, available at www.sec.gov. In addition, please note that any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that Archer believes to be reasonable as of the date of this press release. Archer undertakes no obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or future events.

Source: Archer

Text: ArcherIR