United Airlines
Canvas Category OEM : Aerospace
This is the story of airline that leads the industry from ground to clouds. Our global cast of over 100,000+ hero characters are each on a journey to be a force for good for our customers, the planet and each other. Come be part of this story.
Assembly Line
Archer Announces Strategic Partnership With Anduril to Develop Hybrid VTOL Military Aircraft; Raises An Additional $430M
Anduril and Archer (NYSE: ACHR) announced an exclusive partnership to jointly develop a hybrid VTOL aircraft for critical defense applications targeting a potential program of record from the DOD.
With Archer’s ability to rapidly develop advanced VTOL aircraft using existing commercial parts and supply chains and Anduril’s deep expertise in artificial intelligence, missionization, and systems integration, the partnership will accelerate speed to market for critical hybrid VTOL capabilities at a fraction of the cost of more traditional alternatives.
Archer’s efforts on this project will be part of its new Archer Defense program. To support this initiative and for other general corporate purposes, Archer raised $430M in additional equity capital today, with participation from Stellantis, United Airlines, and new institutional investors, including Wellington Management and Abu Dhabi investment holding company 2PointZero, a subsidiary of UAE’S largest listed entity, IHC. Archer ended Q3’24 with $502M of cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet and this raise brings Archer’s total capital raised to nearly $2B to date. Following this capital raise, and together with Archer’s other announced financing arrangements, Archer believes it is now well-positioned with one of the sector’s leading balance sheets with no near-term financing needs.
United Airlines Turns To Generative AI To Help Explain Flight Delays
Now, AI can scan flight systems and, after a quick review from a human, send an alert letting you know the backup was caused by runway construction at SFO. The AI-assisted messages mark an evolution for Every Flight Has a Story, an initiative United launched in 2018 to give customers more information when things go wrong. United knows that more transparent messaging about flight issues can build trust with passengers, and providing even small details have had a positive impact on customer satisfaction metrics.
With generative AI, United’s team of roughly 15 storytellers is getting a tool that will help them handle more messages and provide more details to passengers, important ahead of the busy summer travel season. Around 6,000 flights have received at least one GenAI-assisted message since the rollout earlier this year, and there are plans to scale up quickly.
How United Airlines uses AI to make flying the friendly skies a bit easier
When a flight is delayed, a message with an explanation will arrive by text and in the United app. Most of the time, that message is generated by AI. Meanwhile, in offices around the world, dispatchers are looking at this real-time data to ensure that the crew can still legally fly the plane without running afoul of FAA regulations. And only a few weeks ago, United turned on its AI customer service chatbot.
Not that long ago, it was rather typical to get a notification when a flight was delayed, but no further information about it. Maybe the incoming flight was delayed. Maybe there was a maintenance issue. A few years ago, United started using agents to write short notices that explained the delay and sent those out through its app and as text messages. Now, pulling in data from its chat app and other sources, the vast majority of these messages are written by AI.
Similarly, United is looking at also using generative AI to summarize flight information for its operations teams, so they can get a quick overview of what’s happening.
Later this year, United also plans to launch a tool that is currently called “Get Me Close.” Often, when there’s a delay, customers are willing to change their plans to switch to a nearby airport. I once had United switch me to a flight to Amsterdam when my flight to Berlin got canceled (not that close, but close enough to get a train and still moderate a keynote session the next morning).
✈️ Archer Accelerates Path to Market: Secures $215M Investment From Stellantis, Boeing, United Airlines, ARK Invest and Others
Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE: ACHR), a leader in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, today announced operating and financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023. In tandem with earnings, Archer made a series of announcements that reinforce its path to FAA certification and commercial operations in 2025. Archer has landed a $215 million equity investment from industry leaders Stellantis, Boeing and United Airlines, as well as other financial institutions, including ARK Invest, increasing the company’s total funding to over $1.1 billion to date, received FAA approval to begin flying its Midnight eVTOL aircraft, and reached an agreement with Boeing and Wisk to enter into an autonomous flight collaboration and settle litigation between the companies. Additionally, Archer announced that it is on track to complete what it believes will be the first ever eVTOL aircraft delivery to a customer as part of its recently announced contracts with the Department of Defense (DoD). These announcements come on the heels of the FAA Administrator leaving to join Archer and the DoD awarding Archer the largest total contract value of any eVTOL company.