DALLAS — Southwest Airlines on Friday announced a partnership with an air taxi company to "develop operational plans" for air taxi networks at California airports where Southwest operates.
The Dallas-based airline has signed a memorandum of understanding with Archer Aviation Inc. on the project, according to a company press release.
Archer Aviation is a manufacturer of air taxis, also known as electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
The goal of the partnership would be a collaboration between Southwest and Archer on "a concept of operations that lays the foundation for integrated electric air taxi networks" at California airports.
"This is a key step toward potentially offering Southwest customers an airport transport service that saves time by streamlining the door-to-door passenger journey," the release said.
The collaboration would involve Archer's "Midnight" aircraft, a five-person air taxi (one pilot, plus four passengers and carry-on luggage) that is designed for trips of 20-50 miles from airport over heavily-congested traffic areas. One example featured on the Archer website is an air taxi trip from the Newark, N.J., airport to downtown Manhattan that would take nine minutes, while driving or taking the train might take over an hour.
The collaboration with Southwest would involve using the company's California network to develop air tax service there. The two companies didn't give an exact timeline on when the plan might come to fruition, saying they intend to work together "over the next few years as eVTOLs take flight."
Archer is currently "working through certification" with the Federal Aviation Administration before launching service.
Southwest isn't the first airline that Archer is working with on air taxis.
In 2023, the company announced a commercial air taxi route with United Airlines in Chicago. The route would go from O'Hare International Airport to a new vertiport in Chicago, a 10-minute trip that could take up an hour in a car during heavy traffic. At the time, Archer and United projected the service would be available in 2025. It's not clear if that's still on track.
Air taxis have frequently been floated as a future transportation option in recent years. In North Texas, the City of Arlington last year announced a collaboration with California-based Overair on expanding their eVTOL operations in Texas – from vertiports and advanced charging infrastructure to the implementation of electric aerial rideshare.
The Arlington-Overair collaboration ultimately could provide direct connection flights from airports to the Arlington Entertainment District, which is home to AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Field, Six Flags Over Texas, Hurricane Harbor, etc.