Joby Aviation CEO JoeBen Bevirt and Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian pose with models of their aircraft.To travelers who are sick of getting stuck in traffic jams driving to the airport, Delta Air Lines and Joby Aviation are offering an enticing vision: how about flying directly from downtown to the Delta terminal in 10 minutes via an electric air taxi?
They plan to offer a “premium” service operated by Joby, initially in New York City and Los Angeles from existing heliports, that Delta passengers will be able to book via the airline’s app and website. Joby is hoping to win safety approval from the Federal Aviation Administration for itsin 2024 and launch limited passenger service soon after, in locations it has yet to announce.
It will save passengers an “enormous amount of time and distraction, as well as energy in getting on to their journey,” he said. It also represents a welcome infusion of fresh capital as Joby faces up to huge costs. Not only must the company develop manufacturing facilities capable of producing hundreds of aircraft a year, it also has to build the infrastructure for the air taxi services it plans to operate itself.
Sounds great, let Starbucks employees unionize or we’ll cancel our loyalty and fly elsewhere. Nice partnership…