Business
Flying taxi Midnight on display at GITEX Global
Archer’s Midnight aircraft on display (Rabia Aydogdu/Getty Images)

Archer Aviation strikes deal to supply electric propulsion system to Anduril, bolstering its path to revenue

Archer Aviation announced its new agreement with Anduril after the market closed on Monday.

Air taxi maker Archer Aviation on Monday announced a deal to supply private defense contractor Anduril with its electric power train, marking the first time Archer will make that tech available to a third party.

The deal will help bolster a path to revenue for Archer, which recently said it expects to start generating revenue in Q1 of 2026.

“While most see our Midnight eVTOL as an aircraft, we view Midnight as a platform that plays host to a wide range of new and exciting aerospace technologies that will be leveraged way beyond our own aircraft,” Archer CEO Adam Goldstein said in a statement. “Our power train deal with Anduril is the first of what we expect to be many examples of this.”

According to the announcement, Archer’s power train tech will be used on Anduril’s autonomous “hover-to-cruise” drone, Omen. Anduril announced the vehicle last week as the first product to come out of its joint venture with the UAE’s defense conglomerate, EDGE Group, targeting 2028 for full-scale production. The companies say the UAE has “committed to an initial acquisition of 50 Omen systems.”

In an interview with Sherwood News in July, Goldstein said he believes the company’s defense business could be larger than its commercial air taxi business for at least the next decade.

Archer shares have fallen about 24% since the beginning of the year.

More Business

See all Business
business

Less than a year after implementing them, Southwest is also hiking its bag fees

Southwest Airlines has joined the growing list of airlines opting to hike their bag fees amid sustained higher jet fuel costs.

Starting today, the first checked bag at the carrier — which implemented bag fees less than a year ago — will jump from $35 to $45, and the second from $45 to $55. Southwest quietly disclosed the change Tuesday.

Southwest assigned the decision to “part of an ongoing analysis of the business and against the evolving global backdrop.”

As of Wednesday, jet fuel prices dropped to $4.16 a gallon per the Argus US Jet Fuel Index, down from $4.81 on Tuesday amid President Trump’s ceasefire announcement that sent travel stocks soaring. Major airlines have shed some of those gains in premarket trading Thursday.

With the move to hike bag fees, Southwest joinsJetBlue, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Canada’s WestJet, all of which also boosted fees this month. Experts expect more major carriers to follow, and potentially tweak the pricing of other ancillary revenue sources like seat assignments and carry-on luggage.

Southwest assigned the decision to “part of an ongoing analysis of the business and against the evolving global backdrop.”

As of Wednesday, jet fuel prices dropped to $4.16 a gallon per the Argus US Jet Fuel Index, down from $4.81 on Tuesday amid President Trump’s ceasefire announcement that sent travel stocks soaring. Major airlines have shed some of those gains in premarket trading Thursday.

With the move to hike bag fees, Southwest joinsJetBlue, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Canada’s WestJet, all of which also boosted fees this month. Experts expect more major carriers to follow, and potentially tweak the pricing of other ancillary revenue sources like seat assignments and carry-on luggage.

Mounjaro KwikPen Photo Illustrations

Eli Lilly makes the world’s bestselling drug. Can it keep the party going?

Some are starting to worry that Lilly, which for a short time vaulted into the trillion-dollar market cap club, may have hit a plateau.

business

Delta to increase bag fees by $10 on domestic flights this week, following JetBlue and United, as jet fuel surges

As the price of jet fuel surges amid the war in Iran, Delta Air Lines on Tuesday announced that it will hike its checked bag fees by $10 beginning this week.

Checking one bag on a domestic Delta flight will now cost $45, up from $35. A second bag will cost $55, up from $45, and a third will cost $200, up from $150. In a statement to Sherwood News, Delta issued the following announcement:

“For tickets purchased on or after April 8, Delta will increase fees for first and second checked bags by $10 and for a third checked bag by $50 on domestic and select short-haul international routes. These updates are part of Delta’s ongoing review of pricing across its business and reflect the impact of evolving global conditions and industry dynamics. Delta SkyMiles Medallion Members; customers traveling in First Class, Delta Premium Select and Delta One; active-duty military customers; and those with eligible co-branded Delta SkyMiles American Express Cards will continue to receive their allotment of complimentary checked bags.”

The move follows similar hikes by JetBlue and United Airlines last week. More are likely to come: when one major airline adjusts its fees, others tend to follow quickly behind. Delta last raised its bag fees in 2024, along with other major airlines.

Jet fuel prices were $4.69 a gallon on Monday, per the Argus US Jet Fuel Index. That’s up from the low $2 range for much of January.

Latest Stories

Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate, including Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities, LLC, Robinhood Crypto, LLC, Robinhood Derivatives, LLC, or Robinhood Money, LLC. Futures and event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC.