Archer Aviation's all-electric Midnight air taxi flew piloted demonstration flights around San Francisco Bay last week, taking off and landing at Oakland International Airport, the company announced Monday, Oct. 19. One flight went from Oakland to San Francisco's Marina District in about 10 minutes.

Why it matters: It's the closest look yet at what air taxis over the bay could be. But this is not passenger service: the aircraft still needs FAA type certification.

The tour

  • The Northern California leg of Archer's "No Roads" tour began in Salinas and stopped in Hollister, San Martin, San Jose, Mountain View and Hayward before Oakland.
  • Archer says Midnight hit a top speed of 131 mph and flew more than 200 miles into seven cities over three days.
  • FLYING Magazine, citing FlightAware, counted three flights over the bay on Thursday, each about 20 minutes.

What it did not do

The prototype did not land in the Marina. It used Oakland's runway for conventional takeoffs and landings, FLYING reported, and the preproduction aircraft has not yet shown the switch from vertical to forward flight.

"Flying Midnight across multiple cities in Northern California shows we can connect communities with no roads, no traffic, and no emissions in minutes instead of hours," Archer CEO Adam Goldstein said.

Midnight is a piloted, four-passenger aircraft with 12 electric motors. Archer is heading next to Los Angeles, where it aims to launch service by the 2028 Olympics.

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