Osaka Names Japan Airlines’ And Sumitomo Corporation’s JV, Soracle, With Archer’s Midnight Aircraft As Its Air Taxi Partner

• This makes Archer the only U.S. eVTOL manufacturer set to play a key role in the establishment of air taxi services in Osaka
• Archer’s CEO, Adam Goldstein and Japan’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism recently discussed plans to bring Archer’s air taxis to Japan to position the country as a leader in advanced air mobility

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR) announced that its partner, Soracle, a joint venture between Japan Airlines and Sumitomo Corporation, has been named to lead the establishment of air taxi services in the Osaka Prefecture. This makes Archer the only U.S. eVTOL manufacturer set to play a key role in the establishment of air taxi services in Osaka.

With Soracle’s intention to deploy Archer’s Midnight aircraft as the core part of its fleet, its agreements with the Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City represent a critical step toward building out the operational, regulatory and community frameworks needed to connect Osaka and the broader Kansai region with quiet, sustainable and safe air taxi flights.

Archer and Soracle previously announced a strategic alliance in November 2024 to jointly launch air taxi operations in Japan, with the goal of offering services in cities where existing ground transportation is constrained by traffic or geographic barriers. Archer and Soracle recently displayed Archer’s Midnight aircraft at the Osaka Kansai World Expo to showcase its planned future air taxi service in the Kansai region.

From high-speed rail to modern aviation infrastructure, Japan has long been a global pioneer in the adoption of advanced transportation systems. Now, with the imminent commercialization of eVTOL aircraft, the country is once again poised to be an early adopter in the next generation of air transportation.

Separately, this past week, a delegation from Japan, including Hiromasa Nakano, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism; the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau; and the Consul General of Japan in San Francisco visited Archer’s headquarters for a briefing with Archer’s leadership, to discuss how the parties can realize air taxi services across the country.

Archer CEO and Founder Adam Goldstein said, “We’re proud of our continued partnership with Soracle, and applaud their latest milestone securing air taxi rights in Osaka. It was an honor to host Minister Nakano and the Japanese delegation this past week, and I look forward to deepening our relationship in the country as we build the foundation for commercial air taxi services in Japan.”

Soracle CEO Yukihiro Ota said, “We are honored to announce the partnership agreement with Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City to realize our commercial eVTOL air taxi service in the region. Thanks to Archer’s dedicated and continuous cooperation and support, we are confident that we can achieve this goal and realize the social implementation together with Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City.”

About Archer

Archer is designing and developing the key enabling technologies and aircraft necessary to power the future of aviation. To learn more, visit www.archer.com.

About Soracle Corporation

Soracle Corporation is a joint venture between Sumitomo Corporation and Japan Airlines headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, established on June 3, 2024. Soracle aims to revolutionize mobility in Japan by providing sustainable and efficient air transportation solutions with eVTOL services. This initiative is part of a broader effort to integrate advanced air mobility solutions into realistic environments, enhancing connectivity and creating new value in air transportation.

To learn more, visit https://www.soraclecorp.com/

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward looking statements regarding Archer’s future business plans and goals, including statements regarding its planned air tax network commercialization. In addition, this press release refers to a signed agreement that is conditioned on the future execution by the parties of binding definitive agreements incorporating the terms outlined in this signed agreement, which may not be completed or may contain different terms than those set forth in this signed agreement. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors. The risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the results predicted are more fully detailed in Archer’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, available at www.sec.gov. In addition, please note that any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that Archer believes to be reasonable as of the date of this press release. Archer undertakes no obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or future events.

Source: Archer

Text: ArcherIR