 "Archer Aviation")
An air taxi will take around seven minutes from Delhi to Gurugram, and its fare would be between one and 1.5 times that of an Uber, top executives at Archer Aviation told Business Standard on Friday.
In November last year, Rahul Bhatia’s Interglobe Enterprises (IGE) — the majority shareholder of IndiGo — partnered Archer Aviation to launch and operate an all-electric air taxi service in India by 2026. They plan to start with cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.
“I would say it would be 1-1.5X to that of an Uber fare...Our goal would be to very quickly get into the same price. In the US, it would definitely be the same price (that of Uber fare). Here, Uber is cheap because it has competitors like Ola,” Nikhil Goel, chief commercial officer, Archer Aviation, said.
“Central Delhi to Gurugram, in an Uber, will cost you about Rs 1,500-2,000 and it would take you nearly 90 minutes. By air, through Archer, it would be seven minutes of flight, and the pricing would be Rs 2,000-3,000. It is a little more on the premium side. However, depending on the route, it could be the same price as an Uber ride,” Goel added.
He said that the aim is to keep the air taxi service “very affordable,” and the lower labour costs (for pilots and maintenance) in India will assist in achieving this goal.
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California-based Archer is currently in the process of getting its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, called “Midnight,” certified by the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It aims to get the certification done by the end of 2024.
The company's founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Adam Goldstein told this newspaper that India is expected to be the biggest eVTOL market in the world.
“There are a lot of people in India. It is the biggest country (in terms of population) in the world. It is developing rapidly right now and culturally, it is leaning into new technologies. As cities develop, and as more industrialisation happens, there is an opportunity to develop a lot of infrastructure,” he stated.
Regulations regarding pilot training, the establishment of vertiports (equivalent to airports), and the use of airspace by eVTOL aircraft will be formed by the FAA.
“The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has committed to us that it is going to match everything that the FAA is doing,” Goel noted.
He added that this means Midnight's certification by the DGCA would occur “at or around the same time” as that of the FAA.
Archer is looking to launch its services on three types of routes: airport commuter routes (airports to city centres), big commute routes (like Mumbai-Pune) and leisure routes (like Delhi-Agra).
IndiGo's data would be quite helpful in developing the airport commuter routes, Goldstein said, adding that Connaught Place to Gurugram may be one of the first routes “we will launch.”
“It is certainly, based on our analysis of the data, the route that sees the most pain,” he stated.
After that, the company may launch operations on commuter routes connecting Noida and leisure routes connecting Agra.
The IGE-Archer partnership plans to finance the purchase of up to 200 Midnight aircraft for the Indian market. When asked if the deal regarding this purchase has been finalised, Goel said, “We will be more public about that later this year. We're not sharing too much more yet. But rest assured, our goal is to finalise the joint venture (JV) this year.
The company is in the process of establishing its office in India. “It will happen over the next several months,” Goel said. Regarding development of vertiports, he said that Archer and Interglobe will jointly work on it.
“First, Interglobe has quite a bit of experience in real estate. It is the third largest hotel holder of keys in the country. So, it knows how to build not just real estate but actual hospitality with excellent customer service.”
“Two, Rahul personally knows all the big real estate developers across the country. So, we are going to work together to see what the routes would look like and where the vertiports will be (established) in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
Then, we will find the right permits to build those up,” he added.
Goel said the Indian airport operators are "very supportive" during discussions regarding establishment of vertiports inside airports. “Space is the biggest constraint but there are parcels of land in the airport that are yet to be developed. There are also ways where we can be creative, whether putting infrastructure on top of buildings, among others.”
Goel did not reveal the investment that the company is planning in India.
“Rest assured, both Archer and Interglobe are going to invest pretty heavily here. We are going to do it together,” he added.
