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Archer Midnight Air Taxi Heads to Japan in $500M Deal

Soracle, a joint venture between Japan Airlines and Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo, has the right to purchase as many as 100 electric air taxis.

Thursday, November 07, 2024 at 08:00 AM ET

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Archer’s flagship Midnight air taxi is an electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) design built for a pilot to fly as many as four passengers. [Courtesy: Archer Aviation]

Key Takeaways:

Soracle, a joint venture between Japan Airlines and Sumitomo, secured an option to purchase up to 100 Archer Midnight electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, valued at up to $500 million.
Soracle plans to deploy the Midnight eVTOLs to launch zero-emission air taxi services in major Japanese cities like Tokyo and Osaka, with a public demonstration at World Expo 2025.
Archer Aviation aims to launch its air taxi service in the U.S. as early as next year with partners like United and Southwest Airlines, while also pursuing expansion into other international markets and competing with rivals such as Joby Aviation.

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Soracle, a joint venture between Japan Airlines and Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo created in June to operate electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) air taxis, signed an agreement giving it the option to purchase as many as 100 Midnight aircraft from manufacturer Archer Aviation, the company announced Thursday.

The agreement—worth up to $500 million, or about $5 million per vehicle—is the latest big-money deal for Archer, which in August said its order book tops $6 billion.

Jack Daleo

Jack is a staff writer covering advanced air mobility, including everything from drones to unmanned aircraft systems to space travel—and a whole lot more. He spent close to two years reporting on drone delivery for FreightWaves, covering the biggest news and developments in the space and connecting with industry executives and experts. Jack is also a basketball aficionado, a frequent traveler and a lover of all things logistics.