Could you take a taxi in the sky? This company is building some in metro Atlanta

COVINGTON, Ga. — A company in Newton County is looking to the future and to the sky.

Archer Aviation is bringing 1,000 jobs to Covington to build electric air taxis starting in October.

Channel 2′s Courtney Francisco got to go inside the first air taxi in the U.S. on Thursday.

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The electric air taxi can fly about 40 to 60 miles and would cost just a little more than a rideshare, according to the company.

“It’s kind of the wave of the future. It’s the way aviation is starting to go,” helicopter pilot Gene Barton said.

Pilots were getting a glimpse of the aircraft that promises to fly you over roads notorious for traffic congestion and could cut two-hour trips in half.

“It is 100 times quieter than a helicopter, so the noise profile is very tolerable within cities. It also has zero points of failure. It is an incredibly safe product,” said Tosha Perkins with Archer Aviation.

The helicopter is designed to be used like an Uber or Lyft and will take off from helipads and parking decks.

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A 35-mile trip could cost you less than $150.

“If you’re coming to an aircraft, you’ll see your name as you’re getting to your seat, so you will know your seat number, your name, your destination, your time to take off, time to landing,” Glen Burks with Archer Aviation said.

Out of 260 cities, Archer Aviation chose to build them in Covington.

The goal is to make 650 of them in the first year and fly the first customers around Chicago and New York in less than two years.

If you’re in Covington, you might notice some test flights starting early next year.

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