Archer eyes IndiGo for help to expand reach of air taxis
with IndiGo’s Mumbai-Jakarta flight and the air traffic between India and Indonesia has increased by 123% on quarter to 34,493 passengers in OctDec
IN shoğt-haul tğavel, bookinŇ þindoþ has shoğtened to 15-20 days as compağed to 30-60 days eağlieğ
from 15,482 in July-September following increased connectivity by other airlines as well. For example, Vistara which is currently the sole carrier on the Delhi-Bali route had to upgrade to a wide-body Boeing B787 on the route on the back of higher demand as compared to an Airbus A321 used earlier.
IN SOME cases þheğe visa is available on ağğival, passenŇeğs ağe also makinŇ sudden plans to around 15-20 days on an average as compared to 30-60 days earlier. But, in some cases where visa is available on arrival, passengers are also making sudden plans and sometimes booking a day prior,” Aditya Agarwal, chief financial officer, Cleartrip said.
Countries such as Thailand, Mauritius, and Indonesia offer visa on arrival for Indian travellers, and other countries like such as Azerbaijan, Vietnam, and Georgia compete by offering a hassle-free visa application process with quick approvals. Not to be left out, Malaysia has come up visa-free entry to Indian travellers until
THERE’S a 30-50% ğise in demand foğ easy-visa, shoğt-haul destinations this summeğ
“This trend has started over the last 12 months as the visa-related restrictions have started to ease. In short-haul air travel, the booking window has significantly shortened
December.
Vietnam Airlines said that it has been observing a very unique booking pattern from India.
“Unlike Europeans, who usually book 4-6 months in advance, Indian travelers tend to finalize their plans closer to departure, often within 30 days of departure,” Abhishek Goyal, executive director, Aeroprime Group, said. This trend is especially evident for Vietnam, a short-haul destination where there's a growing tendency for shorter booking times. Aeroprime is an aviation and travel services group based in India, according to the company's website.
There has been a 30-50% increase in consumer demand for easy-visa, short-haul destinations in the upcoming summer season as well with a 50-400% increase in bookings for visa-free countries such as Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand and a booking window of 7-10 days in several cases, Daniel D’Souza, president & country head— Holidays, SOTC Travel, said.
Stable air fares for Malaysia, Mauritius, and Indonesia among others have also aided the sustained demand, D’souza said.
Omni-channel travel platform Thomas Cook has also witnessed a surge of up to 550% in bookings for Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Georgia.
“Airfares for April-May are on par with, or marginally higher than last year and this is further fuelling consumer demand for short haul destinations,” Rajeev Kale, president & country head, Holidays, MICE, Visa - Thomas Cook (India) Ltd, said.
InterGlobe, the largest shareholder of IndiGo, is expected to form a joint venture with Archer Aviation this year and launch electric air taxis in India in 2026, a top executive told Mint. The company also said that it will partner with IndiGo, Ola, and Uber to expand its reach in the country.
“We’re in the process of establishing a joint venture with InterGlobe,” Archer Aviation founder and chief executive officer Adam Goldstein said in an interview. “We are looking to launch (air taxis) somewhere, say, early 2026 or middle of 2026.”
California-based Archer Aviation was set up in 2018 and is developing electric air taxis that have a range of around 100 miles at a speed of up to 240 km per hour. United Airlines is one of the foremost partners for Archer and has already ordered 200 electric air taxis and both are working on assessing viable routes for the taxis.
Goldstein said that the company expects to receive certification from US aviation regulator Federal Aviation Administration by the end of 2025 and launch in India “right after that.” In November 2023, Rahul Bhatia-backed InterGlobe signed a memorandum of understanding with Archer Aviation to launch and operate an all-electric air taxi service in India, subject to appropriate regulatory approvals and clearances. The partnership also plans to finance the purchase of up to 200 of Archer’s Midnight aircraft for the India operations.
Archer’s Midnight aircraft is a piloted, four-passenger electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights. Under the plan, an InterGlobe-Archer flight could fly the 27-km trip from Connaught Place in Delhi to Gurugram, that takes 60 to 90 minutes by car, in about 7 minutes. The electric air taxi cab trip is expected to cost ₹2,000 while a car trip costs about ₹1,500, as per Archer.
“We see a big opportunity to go work with IndiGo on the aviation side,” Nikhil Goel, chief commercial officer at Archer, said. So IndiGo is an airline that knows the market like no one else in the country and they also understand the price that attracts Indians. Plus, they have the network. “I think Rahul is a special person and offers a special opportunity for us to do that.” The two parties will also look for opportunities to use the electric aircraft in cargo, logistics, medical and emergency services, as well as private company and charter services in India, as per the MoU.
“That JV will work on several things. One is it’s going to acquire 200 aircraft. Over time, we envision India could have thousands of aircraft. And then, we’ll find ways to work with IndiGo, whether that’s on operations or on flight,” he said.
Archer Aviation is developing electric air taxis that have a range of around 100 miles at a speed of up to 240 kmph