Getting into central London from an airport could soon be a very different experience, after Virgin Atlantic and electric air taxi firm Joby Aviation signed a definitive, multi-year partnership at the Farnborough International Airshow.
The deal, announced this week, converts a memorandum of understanding the two companies first signed in 2025 into a binding commercial agreement, making Virgin Atlantic Joby’s exclusive UK airline partner for air taxi services. Under the arrangement, Virgin Atlantic will integrate Joby’s future air taxi bookings directly into its app and website, allowing customers to pair a long-haul flight with a seamless onward journey. Joby will remain responsible for actually operating the aircraft, developing routes, and securing certification from the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
Services are expected to launch first around Virgin Atlantic’s hubs at Heathrow and Manchester, with Manchester earmarked to anchor connections across the North of England. Joby’s all-electric aircraft is designed to carry a pilot and up to four passengers, and the company says it’s now in the fifth and final stage of FAA certification, having already flown more than 50,000 test miles including trials in New York and San Francisco.
The partnership builds on Joby’s existing relationship with Delta Air Lines, which owns a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic, bringing all three brands together around the push for faster, greener airport connections. It’s a significant marker for the wider advanced air mobility sector — one of the most substantial commercial tie-ups between an airline and an eVTOL developer anywhere in Europe so far.
For taxi and private hire drivers, this remains firmly on the horizon rather than an immediate concern — certification, infrastructure and pricing all still need to be worked out before a single paying passenger takes a seat. But it’s a development worth keeping an eye on, particularly for anyone working the airport-transfer side of the trade.
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