Joby Aviation has agreed to acquire the passenger flight operations of Blade Air Mobility and will use the business as a key part of its plans to launch eVTOL air-taxi services. The companies announced the $125 million transaction today, saying that Joby will be a partner for Blade’s medical transportation unit, which is to continue operating as a separate public company.
Though not publicly acknowledged in the announcement, the takeover of Blade’s passenger operations seems to ensure that Blade will exclusively use the four-passenger aircraft that Joby is aiming to bring to market in early 2026. Loss-making Blade Air Mobility has previously announced partnerships and provisional orders with at least two other eVTOL aircraft developers—Eve Air Mobility and Beta Technologies.
According to Joby, Blade will be directly involved in its efforts to launch commercial passenger services in Dubai next year. The acquisition is set to unlock “immediate market access and infrastructure across key urban corridors in New York City and Southern Europe,” Joby said.
Last year, Blade flew more than 50,000 passengers in helicopters. Trips included flights using dedicated bases at New York John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty Airport, as well as using heliports in Manhattan. The company has also operated services to sites along France’s Côte d’Azur region.
In May, Blade announced that it had reduced its net losses by $700,000, to $3.5 million. Its revenues during the first quarter reportedly grew by 5.4% to $54.3 million. Blade will announce second-quarter results tomorrow.
Blade’s founder and CEO, Rob Wiesenthal, will continue to lead the passenger operations unit as a wholly owned subsidiary of Joby. The acquisition amount will be settled in a mix of stock or cash, at Joby’s preference, with $35 million held back subject to the achievement of various performance milestones and the retention of certain key employees.
“This is a strategically important acquisition that will support the successful launch of Joby’s commercial operations in Dubai, our subsequent global rollout, and our continued leadership in the sector,” said JoeBen Bevirt, Joby’s founder and CEO. “Over the last decade, Rob and the team at Blade have built a world-class passenger experience that demonstrates the value of vertical lift.”
VTOLs for Organ Transplant Flights
Operations in which Blade transports human organs for transplant procedures will continue through a newly-named company called Strata Critical Medical. Joby said it will now be the preferred VTOL aircraft provider for this company.
According to Joby, its main interest in taking over Blade is to get access to its existing infrastructure and also to convince “a large loyal base of passengers” to switch from helicopters to its new four-passenger eVTOL vehicle. Blade will start using the ElevateOS software tools to support flight bookings and operations, which are based on a platform originally developed by Uber for its planned Uber Elevate service.
“Blade was founded with the mission of democratizing short-distance air travel by facilitating the transition from conventional rotorcraft to quiet, emissions-free electric aircraft, and I believe there is no better partner than Joby to make that mission a reality,” Wiesenthal commented. “It is crystal clear from their progress on certification to the successful demonstration flights in New York and Dubai that this is the best possible home for our fliers, our team, and our partners.”
As recently as June, Blade appeared to be working closely with Beta, having placed an order for 20 of its A250 eVTOL models in 2021 and later conducting trial operations in the New York area in 2023. In June, Wiesenthal was one of two passengers aboard its Alia CX300 electric aircraft for a ground-breaking flight into John F. Kennedy International Airport. Republic Airways is evaluating plans for commercial operations with the CX300.
New York helicopter tour operator FlyNYON has committed to buying five A250s and Miami-based UrbanLink has agreed to lease 10 CX300s. Medical technology group United Therapeutics is another prospective customer for both of the Beta aircraft, with planned applications expected to include flights carrying organs for transplant procedures.
Joby’s eVTOL aircraft is expected to have a range of around 86 nm, which is slightly more than the 52 nm anticipated for Eve's vehicle. However, Beta says that with current batteries its Alia A250 VTOL aircraft will be able to operate sectors of 100 nm, while and its CX300 conventional takeoff and landing model will be able to fly up to 215 nm.
In 2021, Blade was one of the first operators to make a commitment to include Eve Air Mobility's eVTOL vehicle in its fleet plans. At the time, the Embraer spin-off was targeting type certification in 2026, but it is now projecting the start of commercial operations with customers such as Brazilian helicopter group Revo in late 2027.
"Joby's acquisition of Blade marks a significant milestone in the evolution of urban air mobility," an Eve spokesperson told AIN. "Acquisitions like this signal accelerating momentum in the sector, and we're closely watching how these developments shape the future of passenger experience, infrastructure and innovation. We remain committed to making impactful contributions to this transformation."
This story was updated on August 5 to include a comment from Eve Air Mobility and to add more information about previous agreements between Blade, Eve and Beta Technologies. It also now includes range projections for Beta's aircraft based on current-generation batteries.