24 February 2026

Season 8, Post 7: The airport of the future

Airports are rarely pleasant places to visit, as your author can attest having passed through London’s Heathrow twice recently. Listen to Adam Goldstein, the Founder and Chief Executive of Archer Aviation, and you will hear a vision for what the aircraft of the future may resemble. In our third interaction with Archer’s senior management over the last six months (read more here) we learned how Archer is “helping to build a new category.”

Adam described his business as operating “flying cars.” We first made the case for electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOLs) in our 2022 thematic work. Since then, the industry has evolved rapidly. Trials are underway in several locations around the world. The potential is significant: imagine getting from a major airport such as New York’s JFK to downtown Manhattan in perhaps not much more than five minutes.

This vision may, of course, take some time to arrive. Archer has been selected as the official air taxi provider for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. Seeing eVTOLs in action will be “important,” says Archer as it will help people get more “comfortable” with the idea. Rest assured, flying taxis will likely be piloted for “up to ten years,” rather than operating autonomously.

As part of its build-out plans ahead of the Olympics, Archer recently announced that it had completed the first phase of its acquisition of Hawthorne airport. Consider this the template for the “airport of the future.” Located less than three miles from LAX (Los Angeles’ principal airport), Hawthorne’s location is strategic and close to many of the city’s biggest attractions such as the SoFi Stadium, as well as downtown. The airport’s existing infrastructure and location are significant as is the scope for it to be utilised as an “innovation test bed.” Imagine a world where AI may one day power air traffic control and ground operations, speeding up the frustrations many experience at airports.

24 February 2026

The above does not constitute investment advice and is the sole opinion of the author at the time of publication. The author of this piece has a personal direct investment in Archer Aviation. Past performance is no guide to future performance and the value of investments and income from them can fall as well as rise.

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Alex Gunz, Fund Manager

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