40km in 11 minutes: Virgin Atlantic, Joby partner for air taxis in UK

British airline Virgin Atlantic and commuter aviation startup Joby Aviation have partnered to offer seamless booking and quicker travel to and from airports in the UK using air taxis. The country’s government is yet to approve air taxis.

“We are going to launch it together in the UK as soon as we practically can,” Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss said in an interview, Bloomberg reported.

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“The simple way of thinking about it is: Canary Wharf to New York,” he said, referring to the London district that’s home to major financial institutions.

In London, Job Aviation said it is planning 11-minute short trips connecting London Heathrow Airport and Canary Wharf, at a distance of about 40 kilometres from one another, at prices “comparable with existing premium ground risesharing options”.

Joby is one of several manufacturers of electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL, aircraft designed to fly customers on short commuter journeys. It plans to start its first commercial service operations in Dubai later this year or early in 2026.

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The company expects concurrent validation by the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority of its application for certification with the US Federal Aviation Administration, which is currently pending.

One of the issues is securing take-off and landing sites, or vertiports. Joby will own and operate some of these, but also is looking to municipalities and third-party investors to help build out the infrastructure.

“That may be the longest-lead item in getting this service launched, just like it is today in Dubai,” JoeBen Bevirt, Joby’s chief executive officer, said in the joint interview.

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Commercial terms of the Virgin partnership with Joby were not disclosed. Delta Air Lines Inc, which owns stakes in both Virgin Atlantic and Joby, has a similar partnership with the Santa Cruz, California-based air taxi company.

Virgin had announced a partnership in 2021 with rival eVTOL startup Vertical Aerospace Ltd., but Weiss said that ended last year.