Target 2025: Joby marks another milestone in journey to launch air taxis

Joby Aviation is another step closer to launching an Uber-like air service as soon as next year, after receiving federal approval for its proprietary software system. 

The ElevateOS air taxi operating system is a suite of software tools that includes a pilot app, a consumer-facing rider app and more. Receiving Federal Aviation Administration authorization for this system marks another item knocked off the company’s “pre-flight checklist,” said Bonny Simi, Joby’s president of operations. 

In a presentation to investors last week, Simi reviewed the progress the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft company has made so far vis-à-vis that list, including receiving its Part 145 Repair Station certification from the FAA earlier this year, qualifying the company to perform select maintenance activities on aircraft. Joby also successfully completed its pre-production prototype flight test program, moving on to the next phase of extensive flight testing it must go through. There’s still a laundry list of additional compliance requirements the  company will have to meet before launching commercial service, including certification of its pilot training program, but Simi said the company is making rapid progress and is on track to bring air service to reality in 2025. 

“Reduced maintenance costs and higher aircraft availability are two of the core value propositions of electric air taxis,” said Simi. “For Joby to deliver a cost-effective air taxi service that our customers can rely on, our aircraft is designed with these characteristics in mind.”

Above all else, however, “safety is our North Star,” she said. 

Joby plans to operate in the U.S. market with its partners, Delta Air Lines and Uber, launching first in New York City and Los Angeles. It’s also working with the Department of Defense, and recently inked a six-year exclusive deal to operate air taxis in Dubai. 

Joby’s electric air taxis are designed to carry a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 mph. Its commercial service will operate much like Uber or Lyft, where consumers can use a mobile app to hail a car; in this case, they’ll be calling an air taxi. 

Joby was founded in September 2009 in Bonny Doon, and has made substantial progress in the past couple of years as the competition to bring eVTOL service to reality heats up. The company took over the former Poly headquarters in the Harvey West neighborhood of Santa Cruz in late 2022 and has been rapidly expanding its Marina facility, thanks in part due to a $9.8 million CalCompetes grant, It’s also building a manufacturing facility in Dayton, Ohio. Earlier this month, it also announced it was acquiring the autonomy division of Xwing, a San Francisco-based developer of autonomous flight systems for aviation and defense.

In October, the company reported it employed about 1,250 people in California alone. A company spokesperson said last week that Joby doesn’t provide breakdowns of the number of employees per region, but added that it has hired another 100 people in Santa Cruz in the past year. 

Last week, two of the company’s major competitors, Archer Aviation and Wisk Aero, also marked substantial milestones. Archer announced its plans to roll out commercial service first in the San Francisco Bay Area, from five different points — South San Francisco, Napa, San Jose, Oakland and Livermore. Meanwhile, Wisk Aero introduced its new design plans and announced its partnering with the Houston Airports to bring eVTOL service to that area. Both companies also have ties to the Monterey Bay area, which is home to one of the largest concentrations of efforts being made in this space. Wisk has a testing facility at the Hollister Municipal Airport, while Archer runs a testing and research facility at the Salinas Municipal Airport.

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