Joby Aviation’s Chief Policy Officer, Greg Bowles, discusses the exciting future of eVTOLs (electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft). Learn how these ‘flying cars’ are set to transform urban air mobility, logistics, and daily commuting. From overcoming regulatory hurdles with the FAA to strategic partnerships and manufacturing scale, Joby is leading the charge in a new era of aviation. Discover their plans for initial market launches in cities like New York, Florida, and Texas, and how they’re addressing safety, noise, and public acceptance.
Joby Aviation plans to launch commercial eVTOL service in New York City, Florida, and Texas as its initial markets under the federal eVTOL Integrated Pilot Program (EIPP), with flying operations planned for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the company’s Chief Policy Officer said in a recent interview. The disclosure signals that the decade-long certification effort is entering its final stretch, with infrastructure, pilot training, and airspace frameworks largely in place.
The company entered formal FAA certification in 2018 and is now approaching type certification for its six-propeller, electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. Under the EIPP executive order, Joby is permitted to conduct limited commercial operations in key states ahead of full type certification. Florida was selected as one of the first EIPP states, and Joby marked the milestone last week by recreating the world’s first commercial flight — the 1914 St. Petersburg-to-Tampa route — using its own aircraft.
The vehicle currently in testing targets routes up to 100 miles. To keep fares competitive, Joby is prioritizing high-density, bidirectional corridors that minimize empty “deadhead” legs. Routes such as JFK to Manhattan — currently served by Blade Air Mobility, which Joby acquired — take roughly seven minutes and are priced from $249. Joby said it plans to begin replacing Blade’s existing helicopter trips with Joby aircraft in the coming year.
“As we get rid of the current constraint for vertical lift, which is noise — it comes to supply chain. And we gotta turn the knob on manufacturing,” said Greg Bowles, Joby’s Chief Policy Officer.
The aircraft’s six-propeller architecture is central to both its safety case and its noise profile. Each of the six motor stations is dual-redundant, meaning a complete propeller failure requires two independent failures at a single station. In a hover scenario with one station lost, the aircraft can compensate by adjusting the diagonal motor and maintaining controlled flight on the remaining four. Bowles said the quiet acoustic signature — a deliberate design outcome of using multiple smaller electric motors rather than a single large rotor — is critical to community acceptance and regulatory approval.
On airspace integration, Joby cited its acquisition of autonomous flight company X-Wing, which has developed camera, microphone, and LiDAR systems to detect other aircraft and drones. The company said it recently completed the world’s first coast-to-coast autonomous flight series with a large aircraft and announced a new set of defense contracts with the Air Force the day prior to the interview. Bowles noted that the FAA’s new digital air traffic control system — the Brand New Air Traffic Control System (BNACCS) — replaces analog infrastructure that had relied on eBay-sourced components, and will enable smarter airspace management for eVTOL operations.
Bowles expressed confidence that broad public access to Joby’s service will come well before 2035, though he stopped short of a firm date. He pointed to a landing demonstration at Toyota’s North American headquarters in Plano, Texas — touching down at half-court on a basketball court with landowner permission — as evidence that the aircraft requires minimal ground infrastructure. Toyota is listed as one of Joby’s key partners. Manufacturing scale, he said, is now the primary variable determining how quickly the service can expand beyond its initial dense urban markets.
- Joby plans initial commercial eVTOL service in New York, Florida, and Texas under the federal EIPP, with operations targeted for the 2028 LA Olympics.
- The company will begin replacing Blade Air Mobility’s helicopter routes — such as JFK to Manhattan, priced from $249 — with Joby aircraft in the coming year.
- Manufacturing scale, not certification or airspace, is now Joby’s binding constraint to expanding service beyond high-density urban corridors.
This Summary is generated thanks to a transcription of the interview, for the full interview please enjoy the video above.
