Joby Aviation has announced plans to bring its electric air-taxi service to the UK. Editor-in-Chief, Eulanda Shead Osagiede, attended the London launch, stepped inside the aircraft and considered what it could mean for the way we get to the airport. *
Getting to the airport is one of those parts of travel we tend to accept rather than enjoy.
For me, a trip to Heathrow can take around an hour and 15 minutes by car with light to moderate traffic—and cost somewhere between £125 and £150 each way. That’s before I’ve checked a bag, gone through security or even thought about boarding my actual flight.
So when Joby Aviation gathered guests in London to announce plans to bring its electric air-taxi service to the UK, I was curious.
Not simply because an aircraft capable of taking off vertically still feels slightly like something from the future, but because I could immediately see where it might fit into the way I already travel.
So, what exactly is an air taxi?
Joby Aviation is developing an all-electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft—known as an eVTOL—designed for shorter urban and regional journeys.
It can carry one pilot and up to four passengers, travel at speeds of up to 200 mph and has a stated range of up to 100 miles.
Unlike a conventional aircraft, it takes off and lands vertically, removing the need for a runway. And because it’s electric, Joby says the aircraft produces zero operating emissions during flight.
But the technology itself isn’t necessarily the most interesting part of this story, it’s what Joby intends to do with it here in the UK.
Joby is coming to the UK
Joby is working with Virgin Atlantic to introduce its air-taxi service in the UK, with plans initially focused around Virgin Atlantic’s hubs at Heathrow and Manchester airports.
The idea is to eventually connect airports with cities and other regional destinations, creating an alternative to some of the longer ground journeys travellers currently make before or after a flight, and one proposed journey immediately got my attention.
Heathrow to Canary Wharf in eight minutes?
Joby estimates that a future journey between Heathrow Airport and Canary Wharf could take around eight minutes by air taxi, compared with approximately 80 minutes by car.
Another example given by the company is Manchester Airport to Leeds, which it estimates could take around 15 minutes. To be clear, these are proposed journey examples rather than routes you can currently book.
But they demonstrate why the idea is interesting. If you travel frequently, time has value. And that’s particularly true when getting to the airport can sometimes feel like a journey in itself.
Joby Air Taxi: At a Glance
Aircraft: All-electric eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing)
Capacity: 1 pilot + 4 passengers
Top speed: Up to 200 mph / 321 km/h
Range: Up to 100 miles
Luggage: Space for 4 carry-on bags
Noise: Around 45 dBA while cruising
Emissions: Zero operating emissions
UK status: Not yet available to book; commercial service requires CAA certification and approval.
But what will an air taxi actually cost?
This was one of my first questions.
Joby says it expects fares when its UK service launches to be comparable with existing premium ground ridesharing services. That caught my attention.
I already spend around £125–£150 one way travelling to Heathrow by car. If an air taxi could significantly reduce the amount of time I spend making that journey for somewhere around the same price, I can absolutely see the appeal.
But affordability isn’t simply about whether I would pay for it.
If air taxis are eventually going to change the way people move around our cities, questions remain about how widely accessible that service will be and whether prices can come down as the technology develops. And price isn’t the only practical consideration.
Eight minutes in the air isn’t the whole journey
This was what I found myself thinking about as I stepped inside the aircraft.
Where would I actually board? How long would it take me to get there? How early would passengers need to arrive?
And, as someone who always has more than carry-on luggage—what happens to my luggage?
Then there are bigger questions around accessibility, infrastructure and how easily an air-taxi journey would connect with the rest of the airport experience.
Because an eight-minute flight sounds impressive. But eight minutes in the air only matters if the entire journey works. That’s perhaps the part of the air-taxi conversation I find most interesting.
Transport companies can give us numbers around speed, range and efficiency. But travellers don’t experience journeys statistic to statistic. We experience them door to door.
Would I take one?
At the right price, with a convenient departure point and a luggage allowance that works for an actual trip? Absolutely.
Standing beside Joby’s aircraft in London, with Tower Bridge behind me, the whole thing still felt a little like science fiction. But perhaps the most surprising part of the experience was how quickly it stopped feeling futuristic once I started applying it to a journey I make regularly.
The technology is impressive. The potential time savings are even more compelling. Now I’m interested in what happens when you put that technology into the hands of actual travellers.
Because that’s when we’ll find out whether the air taxi becomes a genuinely useful part of the journey—or remains a cool idea.
Note: Joby’s air-taxi service isn’t available to book in the UK just yet. For the latest updates on its UK launch, routes and when passengers can expect to take their first flight, keep an eye on Joby Aviation’s website
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