Archer Aviation Inc and ITA Airways, member of the Lufthansa Group, Europe's largest airline group, announced today that they 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 aircraft, the partnership will look to deploy air taxi services in major cities across Italy. Designed for rapid back-to-back flights with zero-operating emissions, 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 center could take less than 10 minutes with a flight in Midnight.

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

"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 electricair taxi services could complement our network and enhance connections between airports, citycenters 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 mobilityin Italy and offer our customers an increasingly efficient journey from origin to destination”, Joerg Eberhart, Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of ITA Airways, said.

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 specialized 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 today’s agreement, ITA Airways becomes the first European carrier to join Archer's global network of airline partners, extending its commercialization strategy already underway in the US, UAE, and beyond.