NEW YORK: Aviation startup Archer announced an air taxi business with United Airlines on Thursday, saying it will one day allow New York City passengers to arrive at regional airports in 15 minutes or less.

Archer brought a prototype version of its midnight plane to Big Apple Thursday to mark the announcement.

The exact time will be served by New Yorkers, will be determined by the Federal Aviation Administration, and that administration must still prove electric vehicles.

“I don’t think anyone is happy to be able to travel 15 miles in a 90-minute 90-minute hike in the car,” Archer CEO Adam Goldstein said of New York’s infamous road traffic.

The plane “almost like a time machine,” he said, makes “a trip from Manhattan to the airport in five to 10 minutes, rather than a typical 90-minute drive.”

But archers still face many obstacles that make this vision a reality.

Meanwhile, the company is in the United Arab Emirates for approval, and in the fourth quarter of 2025, Archer aims to launch commercially.

Midnight comes with 12 engines and 12 propellers, which can accommodate pilots and can accommodate up to 4 passengers, plus luggage.

Goldstein believes that one day the rides are more affordable than today, when people might travel by helicopter once in a lifetime.

He is focusing on gradual expansion, with relatively few vehicles used in 2025 and 2026, rising later in the decade. The company recently completed a manufacturing facility in Georgia.

“Helicopters could become “Volkswagen use products” if they are at higher prices and their safety standards are high,” Goldstein said.

Earlier this month, a New York Journey helicopter broke down and hit the Hudson River and killed the pilot, five of whom came from the same family.

Goldstein is bullish, with artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge software that can allow urban air taxi transportation to develop without safety issues.