The First Regular Network in eVTOL
The case is about to be concluded. The American giant UNITED AIRLINES and the leading manufacturer of eVTOLs (Electric Vertical Take Off and Landing) ARCHER are joining forces to create the first scheduled air transport network. It should be built in the coming weeks between Newark Airport in New Jersey and the center of Manhattan in New York.
Many start-ups have taken an interest in a machine that is close to the qualities of the helicopter by eliminating its main flaw: noise. This is how electric propulsion was chosen, but it posed immense difficulties in developing sufficient energy to tear a weight of several tons from the ground.
After some failures such as the recent one of Volocopter, which was close to success and which was missing a few tens of millions of euros, it seems that the American company, based in San Jose, California, is on the way to being the first to achieve the feat of industrializing this type of machine. To do this, it needed pre-orders from reference airlines such as United Airlines, which put $10 million on the table to reserve the first 100 units of the latest version called “Midnight”. It can carry 4 passengers over a distance of 30 kilometers. It is awaiting certification of the model from the FAA, which should not be long in coming. It should also be remembered that the car manufacturer Stellantis has put 150 million dollars in the balance to reserve the exclusivity of the construction of the aircraft.
30 kilometres may not seem like much, but as the crow flies, it connects most major airports to the city centre. Only the brand new airport platforms are too far away to use this mode of transport, at least for the moment, while waiting for new and more efficient versions.
In fact, the need is not new. As early as the mid-1970s, New York Helicopter connected JFK Airport with the heliport located near 42nd Street in Manhattan from the TWA terminal with Sikorsky aircraft capable of carrying 10 passengers. In the 1980s, Héli France, in cooperation with Air France, also created a first network between the Paris airports: Roissy and Orly, linked to the Paris Heliport and the heliport of the La Défense business district. And let’s remember that Nice airport has been connected by regular flights since 1975 with the Principality of Monaco.
However, ecological pressure has won, many projects have not been able to be carried out and achievements have not withstood the administrative constraints imposed on them. It should be added that political leaders were not inclined to financially support this type of transport, which is supposed to be reserved for the rich and which flies over working-class suburbs. In short, everything has been done successfully to kill a transport facility that has a bright future.
Archer, which managed to find the right financing and the first customers, also obtained its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) on June 5, 2024, less than 6 years after its creation by Adam Goldstein, still its current boss, on October 10, 2018. Let’s salute the feat.
It should not be long before we see these aircraft in the American sky, first around New York with a complete network of services between the 3 major airports: Kennedy, La Guardia and Newark and the center of Manhattan, then between Chicago O’Hare and downtown, all with passengers with United Airlines tickets. This is a great advantage for the company, which will strengthen its offer for high-contribution passengers, who are essential to the prosperity of carriers.
One wonders why European countries are so reluctant to develop this means of opening up large cities. Instead, we see cities like Paris restricting the use of their helipad even though it is beautifully placed.
Of course, we are still a long way from fully automated eVOTLs and these devices will be physically controlled for years to come. But let’s welcome the return of a less noisy means of transport that does not consume fossil fuels.
While waiting for the generalization of these devices, governments would be well advised to put into service regular helicopter lines, if only to open up small agglomerations which, after all, also need a fast mode of transport, even if it is reserved for a certain layer of customers
