Up and away

Self-flying air taxis one step closer to taking flight in Dallas-Fort Worth

This rendering shows what an air taxi VertiPort might look like.

Courtesy of Archer Aviation/Atlantic Aviation

Futuristic air taxis may soon join drones in the skies over North Texas.

The North Texas Council of Governments, a regional planning organization, is seeking permission from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to run a pilot project for testing unpiloted electric-powered aircraft that take off and land vertically. The council filed its application on Wednesday, January 21.

Members of the council are counties, cities, school districts, and other government organizations in a 16-county region anchored by Dallas-Fort Worth.

Among the airports that would be partners in the pilot project are Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Arlington Municipal Airport, Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, and Fort Worth Meacham International Airport.

Roger Venables, Fort Worth’s aviation director, says he foresees regular air taxi service becoming a reality within the next five years. At Meacham, for instance, air taxis could shuttle passengers to and from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field.

Meacham and Spinks serve private aircraft, such as business jets, while Perot Field serves cargo aircraft.

“We’re looking to embrace the next evolution of air transportation, particularly within an urban environment,” Venables says of vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. “Our airports experience relatively low congestion compared to commercial airports, positioning them well as early adopters for pilot programs and demonstration activities.”

DFW International Airport and Arlington’s airport are also exploring air taxi service.

In 2023, the airports started collaborating with air taxi company Overair to one day launch service. The following year, Arlington Mayor Jim Ross said he expected air taxis to ferry passengers to the city’s Entertainment District in time for this year’s World Cup soccer matches. But that won’t happen, as the FAA still hasn’t authorized transporting passengers to fly on air taxis.

City of Arlington spokeswoman Susan Schrock says the city plans to demonstrate vertical takeoff and landing aircraft at an event around the time of this summer’s World Cup. However, the aircraft will carry goods, not people, Schrock says.

The North Texas Council of Governments’ proposed three-year pilot project would operate short-range passenger shuttles and short-haul cargo aircraft. Initially, the airplane-helicopter hybrids would fly along two routes.

One of the pilot project’s key partners would be Plano-based VertiPorts by Atlantic, which develops takeoff and landing sites for these airplane-helicopter hybrids. VertiPorts is targeting markets such as New York City, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Miami for development of its sites.

VertiPorts by Atlantic seeks to “reimagine urban connectivity,” CEO Kevin Cox says.

“This initiative represents not only a key investment in sustainable transportation but also an opportunity to provide faster, cleaner, and more efficient mobility options in some of the country’s busiest cities,” says Cox.

The pilot project’s other participants would include:

Texas A&M University’s Center for Advanced Aviation Technologies, which opened last year in Fort Worth
Southern Methodist University
University of Texas at Arlington
University of North Texas
Boeing-owned Wisk Aero, which plans to launch air taxi service in the Houston area by 2030
Air taxi manufacturers Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation
Beta Technologies, a manufacturer of self-flying vertical takeoff and landing aircraft

Funding for the North Texas project would come from its participants.

Last September, the FAA announced its pilot program for piloted and unpiloted electric-powered aircraft that take off and land vertically instead of horizontally (as traditional aircraft do). The program will comprise at least five pilot projects around the country.

“The next great technological revolution in aviation is here. The United States will lead the way, and doing so will cement America’s status as a global leader in transportation innovation,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in announcing the program.

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New money

Texas Stock Exchange launches trading on 'Y'all Street' in Dallas

Photo by Oren Elbaz on Unsplash

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Two-step aside, New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. The Dallas-based Texas Stock Exchange, nicknamed Y’all Street, just kicked off live trading with five stocks for now — and with lots of Lone Star ambition.

“The Texas Stock Exchange aims to revitalize competition for [stock] issuers, establish the premier venue for listings, and create a world-class trading platform for all market participants,” the exchange says in a fact sheet.

The exchange — whose Texas-influenced nickname is a nod to New York City’s Wall Street — has collected at least $275 million in investments. The roughly 90 financial backers of TXSE include Bank of America, BlackRock, Charles Schwab, Citadel Securities, Dell Family Office, Fortress, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase.

Representatives of TXSE couldn’t be reached for comment. On its website, the exchange calls itself “the most well-capitalized equities exchange to ever be approved” by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Not to be outdone, NYSE has launched Dallas-based NYSE Texas and Nasdaq has expanded its presence in Dallas.

Y’all Street adds to Dallas-Fort Worth’s rising status as a major hub for financial services, with The Wall Street Journal naming North Texas the country’s second biggest financial hub after New York City. Among the biggest DFW players in financial services are:

Financial services provider Charles Schwab
Banking company Comerica
Auto lender Santander Consumer USA
Banking company Texas Capital Bancshares
Lender GM Financial
Investment bank Goldman Sachs
Financial services provider Fidelity
Banking conglomerate JPMorgan Chase
Megabank Wells Fargo

“A homegrown national exchange means more jobs, more investment, and more growth opportunities for businesses and communities across the Lone Star State,” Gabriela von zur Muehlen, senior vice president and chief policy officer at the Texas Association of Business, told The Texas Tribune.

In a move that will further elevate DFW’s status as a financial powerhouse, Goldman Sachs is building an 800,000-square-foot corporate campus near the American Airlines Center. The campus, with an initial price tag of $500 million, will be able to accommodate more than 5,000 employees when it opens in 2028; it’ll be Goldman Sachs’ largest office outside New York City.

Driven by DFW, the financial services sector now plays a massive role in Texas’ status as the Financial Capital of America, as declared by Gov. Greg Abbott.

Bulent Temel, an associate professor of practice in economics at the University of Texas at San Antonio, told Texas Standard that TXSE “is going to boost the credibility of the Texas economy.”

Texas’ estimated gross domestic product (GDP), a yardstick for the size of an economy, climbed to a record-setting $2.9 trillion in 2025, making it the state with the second highest GDP after California. DFW’s estimated GDP in 2023 stood at $744.6 billion, eclipsing the GDP of many countries.

“The center of gravity for American capitalism is now headquartered in the Boom Belt,” Abbott proclaimed in April, referring to an 11-state region (including Texas) in the South and Southeast that’s seeing tremendous economic and population growth. “The Texas Stock Exchange is the natural extension of that capitalism. It ensures that capital markets will reflect the quadrant that is driving American growth.”

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