STORY: :: An air taxi takes off from JFK airport as Joby Aviation trials point-to-point flights
:: New York / April 27, 2026
:: Bonny Simi, Joby Aviation president of operations
"With that, this concludes our flight. You witnessed history today."
:: Courtesy of Joby Aviation. (c) Joby Aero, Inc.
SIMI: "We call this wing-borne and what that means is and why we fly on the wing versus just keeping it up like a helicopter. Because when it's on the wing, the aircraft generates lift. I'm a pilot. I spent 20 years operating out of JFK as a JetBlue pilot. So I'm quite familiar with this area. And with lift, that means that the batteries don't have to produce as much power for the propellers because the wings are holding it up. It gives us further duration. And furthermore, it's quieter."
Joby Aviation is conducting a week-long test of the first point-to-point air taxi demonstration flights in New York City as the company gets closer to winning government approval to deploy commercial electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.
The ?tests this week of the aircraft known as eVTOLs are under a pilot program announced by the Federal Aviation Administration in September.
The company aims to connect Lower Manhattan and Midtown to JFK in under 10 minutes for a trip that could take more than an hour with New York congestion.
