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Air taxis can cut down journeys from 45 to twelve minutes

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Joby has exclusive rights to Dubai air taxis for six years

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Joby's fully electric model can fly to distances up to

160km

By AbdelHadi Ramahi, Amr Alfiky, Luke Tyson

DUBAI, July 1 (Reuters) - Dubai commuters may soon have

a new way to skip traffic: air taxis.

Joby Aviation ( JOBY ) conducted the first test flight of its

fully-electric air taxi in the emirate this week, a major

milestone in the city's efforts to integrate airborne transport

into existing mobility networks as early as next year.

Joby hopes its air-taxis will ease pressure on existing

ground transportation and offer travelers a faster alternative

as Dubai faces increasing congestion.

"We want to change the way people commute," Anthony Khoury,

Joby's UAE General Manager, said.

A journey from Dubai's main airport DXB to Palm Jumeirah

aboard the Joby Aerial Taxi will take roughly twelve minutes,

the company predicts, as opposed to 45 minutes by car.

While Joby's long-term ambition is to make its aerial taxis

"affordable for everybody to use," Khoury says, they acknowledge

early pricing will likely target higher-income travelers. "As

with any novel technology, early days might be a bit more

premium."

The demonstration flight was held on Monday at an isolated

desert site southeast of Dubai's downtown and was designed to

emulate a typical aerial taxi journey, according to Joby

Aviation ( JOBY ) officials.

In a ceremony attended by senior government officials,

transport executives and company representatives, the

experimental aircraft executed a vertical takeoff, flew for

several miles, and then returned for a vertical landing.

The Joby Aerial Taxi, the flagship electric vertical

take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developed by the

California-based company, can fly distances of up to 160

kilometers (100 miles) at speeds reaching 320km/hr (200mph).

Fully electric, with zero operating emissions, Joby's

air-taxi is designed to be both eco-friendly and quiet enough

for commercial use in dense urban areas.

"It will be flying in the city, next to residential areas,

and hopefully people will barely notice it," Khoury said.

While eVTOLs such as Joby's have been hailed as the future of

urban air the industry still faces major hurdles -- including

securing regulatory approval and developing sufficient vertiport

infrastructure.

Morgan Stanley downgraded Joby's stock price target from

$10 to $7 in April, flagging near-term execution risks and

broader aerospace industry concerns, including tariffs and

supply-chain issues. Joby is currently trading at $10.55.

In early 2024, Joby signed a contract with Dubai's Roads and

Transit Authority that awarded the company exclusive rights to

operate aerial taxis in the city for the next six years.

The company plans to inaugurate the emirate's commercial

air-taxi service in 2026, with four initial vertiports located

at Dubai International Airport (DXB), Palm Jumeirah, Dubai

Downtown and Dubai Marina.

"In aviation, you don't see transformations like this," said

Didier Papadopoulos, Joby's President of Original Equipment

Manufacturing.

"Every once in a while, you have this propulsive move into

the future. What you're witnessing here is really exciting, and

I'm excited for you to be riding this one point in the future."