Joby Aviation partners with Virgin Atlantic to launch an electric aviation taxi in the UK, marking the seventh country that startups hope to commercialize one day.
Opened in 2021 through a special purpose acquisition merger, Joby did not offer a time to begin a partnership with Virgin in the UK.
Joby hopes to begin market testing in Dubai later this year or early next, after delivering its first EVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft to the country. The startup had also planned to launch commercial services in the US in either New York or Los Angeles in 2025, but that timeline could be pushed out to allow Joby to work and obtain the required certifications from the Federal Aviation Administration.
In October 2024, Joby said he was approaching receiving a certification of the type that implies approval for the vehicle’s design, but today’s spokesman was unable to provide an updated timeline.
Joby must obtain its own certification before the UK is released. The company applied in July 2022 to verify the aircraft for use by the British Civil Aviation Administration.
The partnership with Virgin has been nearly seven months since TechCrunch first reported that the two companies had plans to work together.
According to the agreement, Joby will become a distribution partner for Virgin’s exclusive airline in the UK. The California-based company has mutually exclusive deals with other airlines in the US and UK, but Virgin Partnership falls under that existing deal as Delta owns about half of Virgin.
Joby’s deal with Delta promises to allow customers to access premium services that shuttle directly from their local Vertiports directly to the airport. (Vertiports is the infrastructure where Evtols takes off, land and charges.) Virgin Partnership promises a network of similar landing sites across the UK, but starts by connecting passengers at the airline hubs at London’s Heathrow and Manchester airports.
According to the company, Virgin customers will be able to book seats on Joby aircraft through the Virgin Atlantic App and website in the future.
Partnering with Airlines is one of the main ways EVTOL companies plan to go to the market. Joby’s main rival, Archer Aviation, has similar deals to United and Southwest.
Many of these transactions include investments from airlines. For example, Delta has already invested $60 million in Joby, and if Joby offers the promise, he has the option to invest up to $200 million more. According to a Joby spokesman, the investment is not part of Joby’s deal with Virgin.
In a statement, Virgin said it will support Joby’s to market efforts in the UK by selling services to its customers, working with regulators and “by supporting its to market efforts in the UK by helping to build support for the development of landing infrastructure at major airports.”
Joby’s Evtol is designed to carry pilots, four passengers and luggage. Promises to fly at speeds of up to 200 mph, making your flight from Leeds to Manchester a 15-minute journey.
While startups have come a long way from massive deployments, Joby states its intention to launch air taxi services in the US, the UK, the UAE, South Korea, Japan, India and Australia.
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