Virgin Atlantic and Joby Plan 200mph Electric Air Taxis in the UK
Cristina GabrielaUpdated 4 min read
Virgin Atlantic is working with California-based Joby Aviation to bring electric air taxi flights to the UK, starting from the airline's hubs at London Heathrow and Manchester. The partnership, first announced on 16 March 2025, would let Virgin Atlantic customers book a seat on Joby's aircraft through the airline's app, website and other sales channels, connecting long-haul flights with short hops to city centres and nearby towns.
Joby's aircraft carries a pilot and up to four passengers and has a top speed of about 200 mph (320 km/h). The companies gave two example journeys: Heathrow to Canary Wharf in about eight minutes, against around 80 minutes by car, and Manchester Airport to Leeds in about 15 minutes. No launch date has been set.
The aircraft
The Joby aircraft is an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) design with six tilting propellers. They point upwards for take-off and landing and rotate forward for cruise, when a fixed wing carries the aircraft like a conventional aeroplane. Joby says the aircraft is much quieter than a helicopter and is designed for rapid back-to-back flights on routes of up to 100 miles (160 km).
| Item | Joby eVTOL |
|---|---|
| Occupants | 1 pilot, up to 4 passengers |
| Top speed | About 200 mph |
| Planned route length | Up to 100 miles |
| Propulsion | 6 electric motors driving tilting propellers |
| Operating emissions | None |
"Zero emission" refers to the aircraft in operation. The overall carbon footprint depends on how the electricity used to charge it is generated.
Joby has flown thousands of test flights, including exhibition flights in New York, Japan and South Korea. It is seeking type certification from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which would then be validated by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) under the bilateral aviation safety agreement between the two countries. Joby applied for UK validation in 2022.
How the partnership works
The UK deal is an extension of Joby's existing relationship with Delta Air Lines, which owns 49% of Virgin Atlantic. In 2022 Joby and Delta agreed a multi-city partnership to provide home-to-airport air taxi services, which is mutually exclusive in the US and UK for at least five years after commercial launch. The Virgin Atlantic agreement brings Delta's transatlantic partner into that arrangement for the UK market.
Under the plan, Virgin Atlantic will market the service to its customers, work with regulators alongside Joby and help win support for landing sites, known as vertiports, at key airports. Joby would operate the aircraft. Over time, Joby expects to build a wider network of landing sites in cities and towns around the UK.
On pricing, Joby has said it expects fares at launch to be comparable with premium ground ridesharing services, such as an executive car transfer, rather than with charter helicopter flights.
Shai Weiss, then Virgin Atlantic's chief executive, said the airline was pleased to partner with Joby to bring short-haul, zero-emission flight to UK airports and cities, combining Joby's engineering with Virgin Atlantic's brand and customer service.
What needs to happen first
Several pieces have to come together before passengers can fly:
- Certification: Joby must complete FAA type certification and the CAA must validate it. Joby was in the later stages of the FAA's five-stage type certification process.
- Infrastructure: vertiports need planning permission, charging capacity and integration into airport layouts, which at Heathrow is particularly difficult because of space constraints.
- Airspace: the CAA and air traffic services must set rules for routing eVTOL traffic through busy controlled airspace around London and Manchester.
Joby is one of several eVTOL developers targeting the UK. British manufacturer Vertical Aerospace is developing its own aircraft and UK route plans.
What has happened since
- November 2025: Joby began power-on testing of its first FAA-conforming aircraft in preparation for Type Inspection Authorization flight testing, the final stage of certification.
- 22 July 2026: at the Farnborough International Airshow, Joby chief executive JoeBen Bevirt and Virgin Atlantic chief executive Corneel Koster signed a definitive multi-year agreement. It makes Virgin Atlantic Joby's exclusive airline partner for air taxi services in the UK. Joby will be responsible for operating the aircraft, managing routes and obtaining CAA approvals, while Virgin Atlantic will sell the service through its booking channels and support infrastructure work at both hubs. Example routes were updated to Heathrow to central London in as little as eight minutes and Manchester Airport to Leeds in about 15 minutes, with Manchester serving as the base for routes across the north of England.
- Earlier in July 2026: Joby displayed a full-scale model of the aircraft at Potters Fields Park in London, opposite Tower Bridge.
- September 2026: Joby began flights under the US government's eVTOL Integration Pilot Program in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including direct flights into Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. In its second-quarter results in August, the company said it had made its strongest progress yet in the fifth and final stage of FAA type certification, with five aircraft flying and 12 more in production.
The terms of the final agreement are set out in Joby's announcement.
