Joby flew electric air taxi in New York City

Joby successfully performed an exhibition flight in New York City, marking the first ever electric air taxi flight in the city and the first time Joby has flown in an urban setting. The aircraft was flown from the iconic Downtown Heliport in Manhattan, NY. Through its partnership with Delta Air Lines that Joby expects New York to be one of its early launch markets after receiving certification from the FAA. 

Company plans to offer fast, quiet journeys using its piloted, four-passenger electric aircraft which has zero operating emissions. Joby’ aircraft is optimized for rapid, back-to-back flights and can fly up to 100 miles on a single charge, covering 99% of all trips taken today across New York City’ five boroughs. While traveling from Manhattan to John F. Kennedy International Airport can take more than an hour by car, Joby expects the trip to take just seven minutes by air.

JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby Aviation, commented: “By electrifying one of the most famous heliports in the world, New York is demonstrating global leadership in the adoption of electric air travel. We’re grateful for the support of the city, and we’re honored to be working with visionary partners like Delta Air Lines to bring our air taxi service to this market. We plan to make quiet, emissions-free flight an affordable, everyday reality for New Yorkers, while significantly reducing the impact of helicopter noise.”

Andrew Kimball, New York City Economic Development Corporation President & CEO, said: "The Adams Administration has been a leader in driving technology innovation and economic growth while simultaneously improving quality of life. EDC’s new strategy for the Downtown Manhattan Heliport reflects these priorities while making it an industry leader in the embrace of eVTOLS – a quieter and greener helicopter alternative – while at the same time facilitating maritime freight with last mile e-bike deliveries that takes trucks off the roads.”

Joby and Delta are working closely with the Port Authority of New York and the New York City Economic Development Corporation as they plan for initial operations, including the development of infrastructure at JFK and LaGuardia International Airport. This builds on significant recent investments Delta has made in upgrading the customer experience at its New York hubs.

Gail Grimmett, SVP of Sustainability Performance and Strategic Partnerships at Delta, stated: “Delivering exceptional experiences for our customers is why Delta has invested over $7B in New York City, especially at our LaGuardia and JFK hubs. Today's announcement demonstrates the great progress that's been made toward launching clean, quiet and convenient air taxi services for Delta customers traveling to and from New York, and is a testament to our innovative partners at Joby and the support of Mayor Eric Adams in advancing new and sustainable technologies.”

Joby’ aircraft was designed to have a radically lower acoustic footprint than today’s helicopters, allowing it to operate in densely populated areas such as New York City without adding to the background noise. In 2022, Joby collaborated with NASA to measure the sound of its aircraft, confirming it registered the equivalent of 45.2 A-weighted decibels when flying overhead at an altitude of 1640 feet (500 meters) – quieter than a typical conversation.