Joby delivers first aircraft to Dubai as air taxi service nears launch

Joby Aviation is getting ready to take flight.

The electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) company has delivered its first production aircraft to Dubai, where it plans to launch a commercial air taxi service in early 2026. Joby, which has successfully completed multiple flight tests with a pilot onboard, says it has begun in-market testing ahead of the anticipated launch of commercial operations.

It’s a significant milestone for Joby, which has been developing the technology to power its multi-rotor aircraft since 2009. And its a significant milestone for the fledgling air taxi sector, which has been leaning on hype and promises for the future of air travel to attract investors and potential clients while its aircraft trudge through years of safety testing and certification.

Dubai is aiming to become a launchpad for advanced air mobility, granting Joby a six-year exclusive operating agreement last year. The agreement, signed at the World Governments Summit, provides Joby with regulatory and financial support from Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA). The company has said it will begin operations from four planned vertiports, including Dubai International Airport and Palm Jumeirah.

In addition to the delivery in Dubai, Joby is also making progress here in the United States. The company is about to begin a process mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration called Type Inspection Authorization (TIA), in which the FAA sends its own pilots to test out Joby’s aircraft. TIA signals the final stage of testing before commercial passenger operations can begin.

“In my view,” said Paul Sciarra, chair of Joby’s board of directors, in an interview, “this combination — both the beginnings of commercial service in a big international city, plus the real last lap of the certification program — I think are going to be the two things that gear shifts this in people’s mind from, ‘Gosh, this is awesome, like, when’s it going to show up?’ to ‘Holy crap, it’s happening tomorrow.’”

In addition to test flights, the company plans on conducting a series of demonstration flights along the routes it plans on flying. Then it will shift to commercial trips by the end of this year or early next, he said.

Sciarra also said the environmental conditions in Dubai present a unique challenge, with average temperatures usually around 110 degrees. Maintaining reliable air conditioning in the aircraft will be crucial for passenger comfort, he said. And there are a lot more “boxes to check” before commercial flights can commence, including training on-the-ground mechanics and flight crews.

“I think we’re getting ever closer to that moment when people are going to be able to go to a place and book a flight on this service, or see these aircraft flying over a place that they’re familiar with,” Sciarra said. “That’s not years away. That’s like months away at this point.”

Joby’s all-electric aircraft has six rotors and seats five, including the pilot. The vehicle can take off vertically, like a helicopter, and then shift into forward flight using tilt rotors. Joby says it can reach a top speed of 200mph, travel 150 miles on a single battery charge, and is 100 times quieter than a conventional aircraft. Its pouch-style lithium-ion batteries power the craft’s six electric motors for at least 10,000 flight cycles, according to Joby’s founder JoeBen Bevirt.

Joby is also ramping up manufacturing, making it the first eVTOL maker to deliver multiple production aircraft. The company now has five aircraft in its test fleet, including a hybrid hydrogen-electric variant. A second aircraft was recently delivered to the US Air Force as part of its ongoing defense partnerships.

Joby has received approximately $1 billion in outside investment, including $750 million from Toyota. Still, the company has struggled to meet financial expectations, reporting $0 in revenue in the first quarter of 2025. Joby is hoping Dubai will set the stage for its inevitable launch in the US, including key markets like New York, Los Angeles, and Florida. And as its manufacturing facility in Dayton, Ohio, starts churning out more aircraft, the company expects that it will really take flight.

“The broader external question,” Sciarra said, “is how many markets can we credibly address in this near term?”