Aviation - Social Gov originally published at Aviation - Social Gov
01 May 2022 || 4 min read
Archer has announced the formation of an advisory panel between its company and United Airlines. The advisory panel will advise Archer on operational objectives as well as the establishment of ongoing maintenance programs for their eVTOL fleet.
After Archer’s SPAC merger last year with United Airlines as a major investor, it is expected that United will purchase 200 Archer eVTOL aircraft valued at $1B with purchase options for another 100 units.
“By working with Archer, United is showing the aviation industry that now is the time to embrace cleaner, more efficient modes of transportation,” United CEO Scott Kirby said in a release announcing the Archer SPAC last year.
The new committee is chaired by Archer’s vice president of engineering, Dave Dennison and United’s managing director of United Express TechOps Strategy and Operations, Mauricio Angel. Each of the committee chairs bring proven experience in aviation operations to the group. The other committee members bring complementary skills in the areas of maintenance, customer satisfaction and fleet management.
“The formation of this advisory committee further demonstrates Archer’s commitment to building advanced infrastructure to support UAM at scale,” said Adam Goldstein, CEO of Archer. “The committee is set up to leverage United’s experience with industry-leading operating strategies in commercial aviation, a key tenet of our business strategy. We understand that the adoption of UAM is about more than just the certification of our aircraft. United’s operational experience here will be invaluable as we work towards delivering aerial ridesharing at scale.”
“At United, we’re proud to be expanding our collaboration with Archer with an advisory committee designed to focus on key operational strategies and electric aircraft performance needed to achieve our shared goal of sustainable urban air mobility, while addressing the scale and sophistication needed to operate successfully, and most importantly, delivering the high-quality user experience our customers require,” said Michael Leskinen, President of United Airlines Ventures. “Assembling this group of industry-leading talent, and harnessing the valuable insights it yields, will be a vital step in enabling consumer adoption of eVTOL.”
Over the long-term, Archer’s goal is to work with United to create UAM fleet support by leveraging logistics concepts and networks already in use, thereby creating expert operational efficiencies.
Why it matters: United Airlines is bringing an incredible amount of operational expertise for Archer to build its strategy for sustaining its fleet of eVTOL aircraft in the coming years. Further, this partnership allows the two firms to begin collaboration, as United is set to take delivery of over 200 Archer eVTOL aircraft once certified.
Aviation - Social Gov originally published at Aviation - Social Gov
