This website uses cookies
More information
MEBAA (Middle East & North Africa Business Aviation Association)
MEBAA (Middle East & North Africa Business Aviation Association)
The monthly news publication for aviation professionals.

Why visit ACE ’25?

Related background information from the Handbook...
The monthly news publication for aviation professionals.

Request your printed copy

Joby applies for aircraft certification in Australia
With commercial powered-lift operations already considered in CASA's regulatory frameworks, Joby is pleased to be working with Australian authorities using an established regulatory path to market.
Joby has applied to Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority for the validation of an FAA type certificate.

Joby Aviation has formally applied for its aircraft to be certified for use in Australia. Joby's application to Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) for the validation of an FAA type certificate builds on a bi-lateral agreement between the US regulator and CASA, and it lays the groundwork for the introduction of quiet, emissions-free air taxis in Australia.

“We're incredibly excited about the potential for air taxis to offer new and more sustainable ways to travel around Australia's global cities,” says founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt. “With commercial powered-lift operations already considered in CASA's regulatory frameworks, we're pleased to be working with Australian authorities using a regulatory path to market that is actively being pursued by numerous countries around the world.”

Joby's electric air taxi is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200mph, offering high-speed mobility with a fraction of the noise produced by helicopters and zero operating emissions.

To date, Joby has completed more than 33,000 miles of all-electric flight with full-scale prototype aircraft and, in November 2023, became the first electric air taxi company to fly in a major US city, taking off from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in New York and demonstrating its aircraft's quiet acoustics for an audience including Mayor Eric Adams, who announced the city's intention to electrify the heliport.

Type certification is a multi-year process that sees a company undertake rigorous testing and documentation across each aircraft system to prove the aircraft meets safety standards and is ready for commercial operations. Joby is the first electric air taxi developer to have its FAA certification basis published in the US Federal Register, and is also the first company to complete the first, second and third of five stages of the FAA type certification process required for commercial service.

Joby has also applied to have its FAA type certificate, once received, validated by the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau and the United Kingdom's Civil Aviation Authority.

In June 2024, the company received FAA authorisation to use a suite of software tools developed in-house called ElevateOS, designed to enable high-tempo, on demand air taxi operations. Joby has been actively developing and testing these software tools in-house since acquiring Uber Elevate, the air taxi division of Uber in 2021. In 2019, Uber Elevate launched and ran UberCopter, the world's first on demand, multi-modal air taxi service, using traditional helicopters that were bookable via the Uber app.

Joby is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and has raised more than $2 billion of funding to date, including investments from Toyota, Delta Air Lines, SK Telecom, Uber and Baillie Gifford.

Other News
 
Toyota to invest $500 million in Joby Aviation
October 3, 2024
After seven years of collaboration, Toyota continues to back Joby towards certification and commercial production of its aircraft.
Joby finds favour in Middle East as it strikes GCAA deal
September 12, 2024
Joby's electric air taxi is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour, with a journey from Dubai International to Palm Jumeirah expected to take just 10 minutes.
Skyports builds AAM momentum through property in Queensland
August 22, 2024
Skyports will explore vertiport development opportunities around Brisbane and the wider Queensland area from Wagner Corp's real estate portfolio and evaluate the sites for design, operational and commercial feasibility.
Archer to develop California network with Southwest Airlines
July 16, 2024