Japanese airline ANA is to work with Joby Aviation to establish ridesharing flights in the U.S. company’s four-passenger eVTOL aircraft. Under an agreement announced on February 14, carmaker Toyota is also joining the partnership and will provide expertise for plans to integrate the air taxi services with ground transportation.
All three partners are already contributing to the Japanese government’s Public-Private Conference for the Future of Air Mobility Revolution, which was organized by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Investment and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism. The government is supporting efforts to launch commercial eVTOL flights during the 2025 World Expo to be held in Osaka at the heart of the Keihanshin metropolitan area, which has 18 million inhabitants.
One of the proposed ridesharing routes would take travelers from Osaka’s central rail station to the Kansai International Airport, which is 31 miles away on a manmade island in Osaka Bay. Joby says its all-electric eVTOL could make the journey in 14 minutes, compared with an hour in a car. The aircraft is expected to enter service in 2024, with a range of 150 miles, a top speed of 200 mph, and a low noise profile that the company says will be acceptable for low-altitude urban operations.
ANA and Joby say their collaboration will focus on tasks such as the development of infrastructure, pilot training, flight operations, air traffic management, public acceptance, and regulatory requirements. The airline, which is now Japan’s largest carrier, has not said whether it will purchase any of Joby’s aircraft or operate them as part of its fleet.
Joby has always indicated that its business model is based on it handling all aspects of commercial services, with flights to be booked via its own app or the Uber app. In this week’s announcement, the company emphasized that it will partner with local companies that are “committed to delivering exceptional customer service and operational excellence to launch services outside the U.S.”
Toyota is publicly listed Joby’s largest outside investor, having contributed nearly $400 million since the California-based company started working on eVTOL aircraft in 2011. The automotive group has been collaborating with Joby on its plans to integrate ground transportation with advanced air mobility since 2019.
Earlier this month, South Korea’s SK Telecom announced it is working with Joby to develop eVTOL air taxi services in several cities across the country. Under an agreement signed on February 6, the companies said they will collaborate on work based on the Korean Urban Air Mobility (K-UAM) roadmap announced by the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport in 2020.
In January, Japanese helicopter flight booking platform AirX agreed to introduce 50 of EHang’s EH216 eVTOL aircraft to its network. Announcing what it called preorders for the two-seat, autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV), the Chinese manufacturer said it represents the largest deal it has done so far with a customer in Japan, where EHang has previously conducted flight demonstrations.
