New York just got a glimpse of a future where the ride to JFK takes minutes, not hours. Joby Aviation this week ran the first point-to-point electric air-taxi demonstration flights in the city, shuttling its eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft between the airport and multiple Manhattan heliports, including downtown's Skyport and pads on West 30th Street and East 34th Street, per Quartz. The company says the ride (see video here) that can take up to two hours by car could be cut to under 10 minutes in the air. The test runs are part of a federal eVTOL pilot initiative overseen by the Department of Transportation, with the FAA and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey helping to clear the way.
Joby, which aims to start passenger service in New York, Texas, and Florida as early as later this year, still needs full FAA certification and has delayed target dates before. Its aircraft seats four in addition to a pilot, flies using tilting propellers, and is pitched as quieter than helicopters and emissions-free in operation—key to placing "vertical flight" closer to where people live, said chief product officer Eric Allison.
The flights are also a showcase for Joby's Electric Skies Tour this year and its growing partnership network, which includes Blade, Delta, and Uber. "These historic Joby flights ... are proof that the future of advanced air mobility is no longer a Jetsons-esque fantasy—it's already here," says Jeanny Pak, interim CEO of the city's Economic Development Corporation, per a release.
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