Archer Aviation and ITA Airways, a member of the Lufthansa Group, have signed an agreement to partner on an all-electric air taxi network in Italy. ITA Airways is Italy's flag carrier, serving more than 70 destinations worldwide as part of the Star Alliance network.

Using Archer's Midnight eVTOL aircraft, the partnership will look to deploy air taxi services in major cities across Italy. Designed for rapid back-to-back flights with zero emissions operations, the goal of Archer's Midnight aircraft is to transform urban travel by replacing 60–90 minutes drives with quiet, all-electric flights of 10–20 minutes. For example, an hour-long trip on the ground from Fiumicino airport to Rome's city centre could take less than 10 minutes with a flight in the Midnight.

The Midnight recently showcased its ability to operate seamlessly in complex urban airspace, completing several days of piloted flights in the US' Bay Area, which included multiple flights from Oakland to San Francisco's Marina District in roughly 10 minutes.

Founder and CEO of Archer Adam Goldstein says: “Italy is one of the most visited countries on Earth: Rome Fiumicino crossed 50 million passengers last year for the first time in its history. Every one of those travellers deserves the option to skip an hour in traffic with a 10-minute, all-electric flight. Italy has the regulatory leadership, the infrastructure and now the airline partner to make air taxis a reality, and I'm proud to be taking this step with ITA Airways and the Lufthansa Group to bring the future of electric aviation to Europe.”

“ITA Airways aims to play a pioneering role in advanced air mobility, exploring innovative solutions and collaborations that can strengthen connectivity and deliver tangible benefits for passengers. This agreement with Archer represents an important step in assessing how electric air taxi services could complement our network and enhance connections between airports, city centres and other strategic destinations. As part of this process, we are exploring different solutions to identify the best possible product for our customers. By fostering an integrated, seamless and more sustainable travel experience, we want to help shape the future of mobility in Italy and offer our customers an increasingly efficient journey from origin to destination,” adds Joerg Eberhart, chief executive officer and general manager of ITA Airways.

ITA Airways aims to act as a catalyst for innovation across Italy's advanced air mobility ecosystem, bringing together relevant expertise and stakeholders and helping create the conditions for new solutions to complement existing transport options and improve airport and urban connectivity. Its contribution will focus on enabling an integrated customer journey and connecting the new service with its network, working alongside the specialised partners responsible for its operation. The partners will explore a range of solutions with the aim of delivering the best possible product for customers.

With this agreement, ITA Airways becomes the first European carrier to join Archer's global network of airline partners, extending its commercialisation strategy already underway in the US, UAE and beyond. The Archer network already includes United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Japan Airlines, Korean Air and Ethiopian Airlines. Archer's UAE programme, centred on Abu Dhabi, is the most advanced international deployment: Midnight completed an in-country flight test campaign there and Archer has been working alongside Etihad Aviation Training on pilot training.

ITA Airways was created in 2021 following Alitalia's cessation of business and operates primarily from Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate.