InterGlobe is not the first company to announce air taxi service in the country.
The usual time taken for a 27 kilometre-long road trip from Delhi’s Connaught Place to Gurugram in Haryana is 60-90 minutes. Come 2026, that may reduce to just about 7 minutes. At least that’s what InterGlobe Enterprises, the parent firm of IndiGo, is promising on its electric air taxis.
InterGlobe Enterprises, the parent firm of IndiGo, on Thursday announced its entry into the segment across the country in partnership with California-based electric air taxi firm Archer Aviation.
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Separately, on Thursday it also lined up collaboration with lifestyle brand Mokobara, to launch an exclusive collection of premium luggage, catering to the modern Indian jetsetters.
InterGlobe is not the first company to announce air taxi service in the country. Last September, FlyBlade India which offers urban helicopter services, announced a non-binding order for up to 200 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) from Embraer-backed Eve. In March, it signed a MoU with Jaunt Air Mobility to launch eVTOL operations in the country by 2027.
“In addition to urban air taxi services, the parties plan to pursue a variety of other use cases for the electric aircraft in India, including cargo, logistics, medical and emergency services, as well as private company and charter services,” the company said.
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The InterGlobe-Archer partnership also plans to finance the purchase of up to 200 of Archer’s Midnight aircraft for the India operations.
The Midnight aircraft is a piloted four-passenger eVTOL designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time between flights.
“Over the last two decades, InterGlobe has been involved in providing safe, efficient, and affordable transportation to hundreds of millions of Indians across the country. We are excited at this new opportunity of bringing an effective, futuristic and sustainable transport solution by introducing Archer’s electric aircraft to India,” Rahul Bhatia, InterGlobe’s Group managing director, said.
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On his part, Archer’s chief commercial officer Nikhil Goel Goel said India is one of, if not the largest opportunity for eVTOL aircraft utilisation in the world as the country is home to the world’s largest population of over 1.4 billion people and its largest cities face some of the greatest congestion challenges in the world.
Archer Aviation is backed by the likes of Boeing, United Airlines and auto major, Stellantis. Interestingly, Boeing is developing its own eVTOL Wisk, which it says will be the world’s first self-flying, autonomous all-electric four-seater air taxi.
