FAA Approved Joby Aviation Flight Software, Ready To Launch Air Taxi In 2025

JAKARTA Joby Aviation announced on Thursday, June 20 that US aviation regulators have granted permission to use their domestically made software for tasks such as pilot workload management and passenger matching with aircraft, similar to ride-hailing applications.

The approval for this operating system, known as the ElevateOS, comes as Joby prepares to launch commercial operations of its air taxis by 2025.

The company based in Santa Cruz, California is one of several air taxi makers or an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (EVTOL) that has appeared in recent years with the promise of reducing urban travel congestion by offering intercity services.

"Joby has a commercial agreement to integrate this software with Uber Technologies and Delta Air Lines that will allow passengers to order and pay for flights," said Bonny Simi, president of Joby's operations, quoted by VOI from Reuters.

ElevateOS was approved for use by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as part of the Part 135 Certification, which Joby received in 2022. Simi added that the company had tested the system by transporting employees between their sites.

The air taxi maker also plans to make money by selling the software as a service. Joby's EVTOL aircraft is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 mph.

Joby, who went public in 2021 through the SPAC merger, has withdrawn investments from transportation industry giants such as Toyota, Uber, and Delta Air. Several major companies have been betting on air taxi makers, but the industry faces technological and regulatory challenges in starting operations and achieving profitability.

These challenges have weighed on the stock of this sector. Joby's shares fell 24.8% this year, while his teammate, Archer Aviation, fell 50.2%.