Delta Airlines has partnered with Joby Aviation, Inc. to deliver a sustainable, transformational air taxi service that will transport Delta customers from their neighborhood to the airport.
The American venture-backed aerospace company Joby has spent the last decade engineering an all-electric aircraft that provides cleaner, faster, and smarter everyday travel. Powered by six electric motors, the aircraft takes off and lands vertically so that it can serve almost any neighborhood.
With the commitment to transform the future of travel, Delta has made an upfront equity investment of $60 million in Joby, with the opportunity to expand the total investment up to $200 million. The partnership will create a unique, premium experience for Delta customers by integrating a Joby-operated service into Delta’s customer-facing channels, beginning in New York and Los Angeles.
“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,” says Delta CEO Ed Bastian in a statement. “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.”
The Joby-operated service allows Delta customers to reserve a seat in the Joby aircraft that provides seamless, short-range journeys to and from city airports. Designed to fly quickly and quietly, Joby’s aircraft can transport four riders to the airport in a fraction of the time that a car can, while leaving zero operating emissions.
“Delta is differentiating and amplifying the customer experience with premium products, choices and solutions across the journey,” says Delta E.V.P. and Chief Customer Experience Officer Allison Ausband in a statement. “Addressing what matters most to our customers is foundational to our focus, and our work with Joby is the latest in a series of ways we’re making the experience of travel more seamless, enjoyable and wait-free.”
The Delta and Joby partnership will be mutually exclusive across the U.S. and U.K. for five years following the commercial launch of the air taxi service, with the potential that it will extend that period.
“We share Delta’s unwavering commitment to delivering seamless and sustainable journeys to customers,” says Joby Founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt in a statement. “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 honor to be working alongside them.”
