archer
You can read the PR here.
The MoU focuses on Southwest’s California operations. Archer focuses on offering to replace 60-to-90-minute car commutes with estimated 10-to-20-minute electric air taxi flights.
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 enhance the first and last miles of the customer travel journey.
Where might this collaboration first focus? The table lists Southwest’s passenger traffic originating in California. The 2024 data for the first quarter.
The focus points are pretty obvious. Of course, the two companies might select a smaller trial market to limit project risk.
The MoU is a good sign for Archer as it broadens its collaboration with big airlines. Perhaps a bigger impact here is for Southwest, which has been under the gun for some time. The most recent negativity comes from Elliot Management trying to overhaul the airline’s board.
While the MoU must have been percolating for months, the announcement is positive as it demonstrates creativity – something Elliot thinks the airline’s management lacks. Moreover, this news follows the announcement that Rakesh Gangwal is joining the board. Mr. Gangwal is an ex-US Airways but, more importantly, a co-founder of India’s IndiGo. IndiGo is arguably the world’s fastest-growing airline. He certainly does not suffer from insular thinking, a claim directed at the airline’s current board.
As important as the signaling is, there is another aspect worth noting. This is the first time Southwest is looking at a non-Boeing solution. After all, Boeing does have Wisk. Is there some more signaling going on?
If Southwest can entertain a novel eVTOL solution as a problem solver, what other conversations are happening in their Dallas HQ? After all, their MAX 7s are sliding further out to 2027. That is, arguably, a far bigger problem than the eVTOL issue.
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It is a non-Boeing consideration. But, also, Southwest has no interest in owning nor operating the eVTOL aircraft. All that will be handled by Archer. In that sense it is a *very* different deal than the one United struck with Archer a few years back and which it continues to refine.