Electric air taxi company Joby Aviation and Uber Technologies have partnered to bring Blade’s air mobility services to the Uber app as soon as next year.
The two companies have worked together since 2019 to develop urban air mobility services, and Joby announced in late 2020 that it had acquired Uber’s Elevate division. The deal also saw Uber invest $75 million in Joby.
Blade’s passenger business, which last year flew more than 50,000 passengers across routes in the New York metropolitan area and Southern Europe, was acquired by Joby in late August.
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“Integrating Blade into the Uber app is the natural next step in our global partnership with Uber and will lay the foundation for the introduction of our quiet, zero-emissions aircraft in the years ahead,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby. “Together with Uber’s global platform and Blade’s proven network, we’re setting the stage for a new era of air travel worldwide.”
“Since Uber’s earliest days, we’ve believed in the power of advanced air mobility to deliver safe, quiet, and sustainable transportation to cities around the world,” said Andrew Macdonald, president and COO of Uber.
“By harnessing the scale of the Uber platform and partnering with Joby, the industry leader in advanced air mobility, we’re excited to bring our customers the next generation of travel."
Joby plans to accelerate its launch of an electric air taxi service in markets including Dubai, Los Angeles, the U.K. and Japan using Blade’s infrastructure.