Joby flies electric air taxi over New York as JFK service plan advances
Joby has flown its passenger air taxi over New York City for the first time. The demonstration campaign is aimed at preparing a regular air taxi service between Manhattan and John F. Kennedy International Airport.
The aircraft is the Joby S4, a battery-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft built for urban and regional passenger transport. It carries one pilot and four passengers, and pilot production is already underway in Marina, California.
During the New York flights, the aircraft departed JFK and landed at several city helipads, including Downtown Skyport and the West 30th Street and East 34th Street sites in Midtown. Those locations are part of the network used by Blade Air Mobility, which Joby acquired to support a future commercial launch in the city.
Joby plans to replace premium helicopter shuttle services with quieter electric aircraft that produce zero operating emissions. The company said the flights used real routes and real-world operating conditions, while demonstrating acoustic and performance metrics needed for urban air taxi operations.
The service still depends on certification by the Federal Aviation Administration, with Joby now in the final phase of that process. If approved, the aircraft could cut a 60- to 120-minute trip between Manhattan and JFK to less than 10 minutes, giving New York a new electric option for one of its most congested airport journeys.