Delta Air Lines has announced a multi-year partnership with Joby Aviation to deliver a home-to-airport transportation service using electric vertical take-off-and-landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
The first-of-its-kind arrangement will combine Joby’s operations with Delta flights, allowing customers to reserve a seat for short-range zero-exhaust-emission journeys to and from the airport.
This service will initially be launched in New York and Los Angeles.
Under this agreement, Delta has made an upfront investment of 60 million USD in Joby, with the option to expand the total investment up to 200 million USD as the service is delivered.
The partnership will be mutually exclusive across the US and UK for five years following commercial launch, with the potential for extension.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian said:Delta always looks forward and embraces opportunities to lead the future, and we’ve found in Joby a partner that shares our pioneering spirit and commitment to delivering innovative, seamless experiences that are better for our customers, their journeys, and our world. This is a groundbreaking opportunity for Delta to deliver a time-saving, uniquely premium home-to-airport solution for customers in key markets we’ve been investing and innovating in for many years.
Joby’s aircraft is designed to provide fast, quiet and sustainable trips in and around cities. To date, the aircraft has completed more than 1,000 test flights, allowing Joby to become the first eVTOL company to be granted a G-1 Certification Basis by the FAA.
Joby Founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt said:We share Delta’s unwavering commitment to delivering seamless and sustainable journeys to customers. Their history of innovation, along with their vast operational expertise and leadership on climate change, make them incredible partners for Joby, and it’s an honour to be working alongside them.
