Delta Air Lines passengers will soon have a new way to get to the airport. The company is working with Joby Aviation to provide airport transfers on its electric aircraft.
Delta will launch the service in New York and Los Angeles in the next two years.
“Delta always looks forward and embraces opportunities to lead the future, and we’ve found in Joby a partner that shares our pioneering spirit and commitment to delivering innovative, seamless experiences that are better for our customers, their journeys, and our world,” Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement.
“This is a groundbreaking opportunity for Delta to deliver a time-saving, uniquely premium home-to-airport solution for customers in key markets we’ve been investing and innovating in for many years.”
What customers will have to pay for the new electric shuttle service was not immediately known. However, it’s important to remember that Delta initially invested $60 million in Joby and has the option to increase that sum to $200 million in the future.
The Joby service will be integrated into Delta’s customer-facing channels as soon as it is ready.
The company claims that Joby’s aircraft, which resemble helicopters but have several propellers instead of just one, have done more than 1,000 test flights.
“We share Delta’s unwavering commitment to delivering seamless and sustainable journeys to customers,” Joby’s Founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt said in the statement. “Their history of innovation, along with their vast operational expertise and leadership on climate change, make them incredible partners for Joby, and it’s an honor to be working alongside them.”
JoeBen Bevirt, the founder and CEO of Joby, stated during a briefing that the company hopes to provide the service to and from neighborhood vertiports, which are close to customers’ homes and are made possible by electric propulsion and Joby’s efforts to make the aircraft as quiet as possible. They can also make use of the infrastructure for the rooftop helipad, he added.
Other airlines have also made investments in electric aircraft, such as United Airlines, which in September made a flying taxi investment by buying 200 four-seat electric aircraft. Similar to this, Hawaiian Airlines has made an investment in electric seagliders that might be utilized for eco-friendly island-to-island travel.
A passenger jet meant to fly distances between 150 and 250 kilometers had its first electric takeoff last month.