Southwest Airlines – a Corporate Partner of the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub – and Archer Aviation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop operational plans for electric air taxi networks utilising eVTOL aircraft at California airports where the airline operates.
Southwest and Archer intend to collaborate on a concept of operations that lays the foundation for integrated electric air taxi networks that would support California airports and the surrounding communities that Southwest serves.
“Southwest is eager to explore the convenience Archer’s air taxis could provide customers flying Southwest at airports in busy urban areas,” said Paul Cullen, Vice President Real Estate, Southwest Airlines. “We’ve proudly served as California’s largest carrier for nearly 25 years, and integrating Archer’s electric aircraft into the travel journey potentially gives us an innovative opportunity to enhance the experience of flying Southwest. We look forward to collaborating with Archer as we assess future commercial activities in California and other Southwest locations.”
Archer and Southwest plan to collaborate over the next few years as eVTOLs take flight. Combining Archer’s aircraft and planned Urban Air Mobility network with Southwest flights could offer an enhanced experience for the first and last miles of the Customer travel journey.
“With Archer’s Midnight aircraft, passengers will be able to fly above traffic to get to the airport faster,” said Nikhil Goel, Chief Commercial Officer, Archer. “By putting together Southwest’s impressive network of airports in California and their frequent intrastate flights with our planned network, Southwest customers could someday complete door-to-door trips like Santa Monica to Napa in less than three hours.”
Hear more from Southwest at FTE Global – the “CES of Aviation” – taking place in Los Angeles on 28-30 October 2024. Kevin Kleist, Head of Emerging Trends, Southwest Airlines, is participating in the FTE AI Symposium, delivering a joint presentation with Christiaan Hen, CEO, Assaia, titled ‘Southwest Airlines is leveraging computer vision technology to improve turnaround performance at the gate. How successful has this effort been, and how might it further leverage the technology going forward?’
Meanwhile, Kleist is also participating in a session titled ‘No Hands or Tags on Bags – is this the future of baggage handling?’ in which the panel will share ideas and views around how feasible a future without tags and workforce touching bags could be.
