Archer Plans Air-Taxi Service in Three Texas Cities as the eVTOL Race Leaves the Lab

Archer Aviation announced plans for aerial taxi services in three Texas cities last week, and Joby Aviation began air-taxi demonstrations in Florida, according to a report on electric aviation published November 3. The two announcements mark the moment the eVTOL industry starts to look less like a laboratory project and more like a transport business.

The flights are happening under the Federal Aviation Administration\u2019s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, a White House-backed programme that lets companies fly real routes under FAA supervision before they are fully certified. Joby has been flying under it in Texas and Florida since September, and Archer has been touring its Midnight aircraft around the San Francisco Bay Area, with legs of roughly 12 minutes each way at up to 125 mph.

The first routes will be short \u2014 think 10 to 40 miles, the kind of trip from downtown to an airport. Batteries still limit range: Archer says its Midnight aircraft can go about 100 miles, so short hops are the realistic starting point. Archer is also the official air taxi of the LA 2028 Olympics, and it is buying Boeing\u2019s Wisk, Insitu and SkyGrid units, with Boeing taking a strategic stake.

Nobody should book a ticket yet. Joby is in the fifth and final stage of FAA design approval and expects FAA pilots to start official flight tests in the first half of 2027; Archer closed the third of four certification phases in April 2026. The first paying riders look more likely in 2027 than 2026 \u2014 but for the first time, the companies are flying where the customers will be, not just where the test ranges are.