Leaders.com
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Business
  • Leadership
  • Wealth
  • Master Classes
  • Business
    • Entrepreneurs
    • Executives
    • Marketing and Sales
    • Social Media
    • Innovation
    • Women in Business
  • Leadership
    • Personal Growth
    • Company Culture
    • Public Speaking
    • Productivity
    • Hiring
    • Social Issues
    • Leaders
  • Wealth
    • Investing
    • Cryptocurrency
    • Retirement
    • Venture Capital
    • Loans and Borrowing
    • Taxes
    • Markets
    • Real Estate
  • Master Classes
  • Login
  • Subscribe
Innovation

Archer Aviation's four-passenger Maker model (Courtesy of Archer Aircraft)

By Hannah Bryan Leaders Staff

Hannah Bryan

Hannah Bryan

News Writer

Hannah Bryan is a news writer for Leaders Media. Most recently she was a reporter for the Sanilac County News...

Full bio


Learn about our editorial policy

Aug 10, 2022

United an Early Investor in Flying Taxis

United Airlines is committing to flying taxis, the first company to place a deposit down for a purchase. 

The top U.S. airline recently plunked down a $10-million deposit for 100 aircrafts developed by Archer Aviation Inc. 

While other airlines have expressed interest in the aircraft, United’s deposit is the first cash commitment to a deal. The planes have not yet received approval from regulators to fly passengers.

American Airlines has made a verbal agreement with Vertical Aerospace, another electric-plane developer, but has not yet made payments. 

Archer’s current four-passenger model is able to take off and land vertically, like a helicopter, making it ideal for travel around cities. Passengers would avoid heavy traffic by using the flying taxis and reduce pollution by using electric-powered transportation.

United will be Archer’s launch customer for the aircraft, The Wall Street Journal reports. 

Archer still has a few hurdles to overcome before the electric plane can become a reality. Regulators are still investigating how to safely integrate the planes into current flight patterns as well as what requirements pilots will need.

The Federal Aviation Administration says that some companies should receive approval by 2024. Archer anticipates that it will be among these companies and hopes to start operating in 2025.

United venture-capital president Michael Leskinen has started to plan routes the flying taxis will follow and expects the routes will be announced in a few months. United has not yet decided in which cities they will deploy the flying taxis. 

Leskinen says that prices will be comparable to Uber Black, around $110 to $120, though those prices could eventually come down.

Flying taxis will be another step toward reducing carbon emissions in cities. San Francisco recently approved driverless taxi service. Cruise to operate without a safety driver in the city limits. The self-driving cars are fully electric. In early June, Cruise obtained the first permits for self-driving taxis in San Francisco. Reuters reports that Cruise plans to launch 30 vehicles in the upcoming weeks.

Previously, driverless vehicles were permitted in the city, but a safety driver had to be present. Now, the vehicles can operate without this precaution, though they still have strict regulations limiting speed and location. 

Google parent company Alphabet has Waymo, a driverless-taxi service that has been ferrying people around Phoenix, Arizona, since 2018, and has been driving its employees around San Francisco since March of this year, Reuters reports.

Hawaiian Airlines has invested in a Boston-based company that seeks to bring all-electric airplanes into commercial service, providing fast, efficient, and low-cost travel for regular, short-duration routes.

Home / News / United an Early Investor in Flying Taxis
Share
FacebookTweetEmailLinkedIn

Related Stories

FTX Asks For Donations Back

by Savannah Young Leaders Staff
Cryptocurrency

5 hours ago

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was the Democrat Party’s second-largest donor and now the company is asking for donations back

Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX is sending requests, seeking the return of political donations.

Key Details

  • Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX Digital Markets Co-CEO Ryan Salame were major political donors during the last election. Now, the company is asking for the money back.
  • Bankman-Fried was the Democrat Party’s second-largest donor with $37 million in donations, while Salame was the Republican Party’s 10th-largest donor with around $19 million in donations.
  • FTX faced a very public bankruptcy filing and is now contacting "political figures, political action funds, and other recipients of contributions or other payments” to take back donations.

Go deeper

FacebookTweetEmailLinkedIn

Washington’s Crypto Crackdown

by Savannah Young Leaders Staff
Cryptocurrency

5 hours ago

After continued downfalls in the cryptocurrency sector, policymakers in Washington, D.C., have turned hostile on crypto, and many fear an oncoming crypto crackdown

After continued downfalls in the cryptocurrency sector, policymakers in Washington, D.C., have turned hostile on crypto, and many fear an oncoming crypto crackdown.

Key Details

  • Cryptocurrencies are very volatile, and between the major falls of different coins last summer and the downfall of FTX, policymakers have turned hostile on crypto.
  • The White House has been declining many different businesses associated with cryptocurrencies suggesting that a crypto crackdown could soon be on the way.
  • The crypto-friendly bank Custodia was denied its request to join the Federal Bank after the company believed it would be accepted. The Fed also warned banks that they will need permission to do anything crypto-related.

Go deeper

FacebookTweetEmailLinkedIn

More EVs Qualify For Credit

by Hannah Bryan Leaders Staff
Public Policy

5 hours ago

EV tax

More crossover SUVs will qualify for the electric vehicle (EV) tax credit after an announcement from the Biden administration.

Key Details

  • General Motors and Stellantis officials have been lobbying for changes to the EV tax credit issued last year. 
  • While the tax credit was intended to incentivize EV purchases, many popular EV models were excluded from the legislation. 
  • This change came about by redefining what vehicles are considered sport-utility. 
  • The Inflation Reduction Act initially provided a tax credit to SUVs priced above $80,000. Passenger-car customers did not receive a credit if the vehicle cost less than $55,0000. 
  • The change is retroactive to January 1, allowing buyers who already made a purchase to claim the credit.

Go deeper

FacebookTweetEmailLinkedIn
surveillance
Company Culture

6 hours ago

Employee Surveillance Hurts Employers

by Hannah Bryan Leaders Staff
Federal incentives are helping push people to buy electric vehicles (EVs) and boosting battery production in the U.S.
Business

6 hours ago

The U.S. Encourages EV Battery Production

by Savannah Young Leaders Staff
Wood
Markets

6 hours ago

More Predictions From Cathie Wood 

by Tyler Hummel Leaders Staff

Recent Articles

Entrepreneurs

14 hours ago

Here’s a Step by Step Guide on How to Start a Podcast

Eliminate confusion, create a podcast in 15 detailed steps

Wealth

Feb 3, 2023

The Most Landlord-Friendly States in 2023

Invest in landlord-friendly states to make more profits

Productivity

Feb 2, 2023

7 Tips to Stop Procrastinating and Eat the Frog for Enhanced Productivity

Get more done using this mental methodology

  • Business
  • Leadership
  • Wealth
Join the Leaders Community

Get exclusive tools and resources you need to grow as a leader and scale a purpose-driven business.

Subscribing indicates your consent to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy

Leaders.com
  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Careers
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
  • Disclosures
  • Editorial Policy
  • Member Login

© 2023 Leaders.com - All rights reserved.

Search Leaders.com