You Can Soon Take Flying Taxis Out of This Airport—What to Know

• Joby Aviation is partnering with Uber and Delta to launch electric air taxi service to the airport.
• The air taxis can shuttle passengers from busy downtown areas to major airports in less than 10 minutes.
• The technology will debut as early as this year in Dubai before eventually rolling out in the U.S.

Joby Aviation, an all-electric air taxi company, is partnering with Uber and Delta to make travel to and from the airport more seamless than ever.

Once in operation, the electric air taxis will be able to fly from Manhattan to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in Queens in just seven minutes. The air taxi is capable of going from downtown Los Angeles to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in eight minutes. These commutes typically take about 30 minutes to an hour, depending on traffic. 

Joby estimates that it could begin offering transportation services as early as this year starting in Dubai. “The next 12 months mark a critical inflection point, not just for Joby, but for our entire industry, as we look ahead to carrying our first passengers,” JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby, said in a statement shared with Travel + Leisure.

Once it completes the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification process, Joby’s electric air taxis will also be able to transport passengers in the United States. 

Delta announced that its partnership with Joby will be prominently featured in Delta Concierge, its newest AI-powered digital tool. Once the first vertiports open in Los Angeles and New York, users will be able to connect with the electric air taxi service to simplify travel to and from the airport. The partnership with Uber also means that hailing an air taxi will soon be as easy as booking any other vehicle through the ride-hailing app. 

The flying taxis will cost about as much as an Uber Black, thanks to their low operating costs, Joby’s chief product officer, Eric Allison, told Fox News recently. Also, because Joby aircraft are all-electric, these rides will emit less carbon than the average car. 

With the new partnership, Joby, Uber, and Delta are all betting on flying taxis, hoping to transform the travel experience with home-to-airport transportation in the next few years.