Korean Air has signed a deal for up to 100 Archer Aviation Midnight electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
The order is part of a wider collaboration agreement through which the pair will seek to commercialise the Midnight in South Korea “starting with government applications”. It is unclear whether the commitment is firm or tentative, however.
“This partnership aims to accelerate the introduction of differentiated aircraft capabilities in the near term while laying the foundation for the broad adoption of Archer’s aircraft in [South] Korea across multiple end markets and use cases,” the partners say.
Archer says it picked Korean to collaborate with due to its “extensive experience in aircraft operation and maintenance”.
“This partnership with Archer will accelerate Korea’s leadership in next-generation air mobility,” says Jin Kyu Lim, senior vice-president and head of Korean Air’s aerospace business.
The Korean Air announcement came as Bloomberg reported that Archer is unlikely to meet a previously stated goal of achieving certification for the Midnight in the UAE by year-end. This would push the start of passenger flights in Abu Dhabi into 2026.
Elsewhere, Air New Zealand has performed the first test flight with a leased Beta Technologies CX300 all-electric fixed-wing aircraft.
Delivered into the country in early October, the CX300 will be based at Hamilton airport until December, when it will transfer to Wellington airport for a further two-month period of testing, flying missions to Blenheim.
