Archer plans electric air taxi network in Miami

• Archer wants people to be able to zip over the congestion in electric air taxis, reaching popular destinations in 10 to 20 minutes.

Driving the news: Archer revealed plans for the first pieces of its Miami network on Wednesday.

• Existing helipads at Hard Rock Stadium and Apogee Golf Club in Hobe Sound will be readied for electric operations. Ross is an owner of both properties.
• Ross's real estate company, Related Ross, also plans to partner with Archer to develop a vertiport within its West Palm Beach downtown development.
• Another real estate developer, Plaza Equity Partners, is partnering with Archer to develop a vertiport in Dragon Global's Magic City Innovation District, a mixed-use community in Miami's Little Haiti.
• The network will also offer travel options between the region's largest airports in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach, as well as several strategic private airports.

Reality check: It will be several years, at least, before the new mobility service is operational.

• Archer's multi-rotor electric aircraft, called Midnight, still needs to be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration.
• For now, the company is preparing for the next era of aviation by building the necessary infrastructure, which includes outfitting existing helipads with chargers and also building new "vertiports."

What to watch: Archer has already announced plans for air taxi networks in the San Francisco Bay area, New York and Los Angeles, where it plans to turn its recently purchased Hawthorne Airport into an air taxi hub and where it is the "official air taxi partner" of the 2028 Olympics.

• But Archer's first air taxi service is expected to launch in Abu Dhabi in 2026.