Virgin Atlantic has abandoned its relationship with Vertical Aerospace in favour of a deal with US air taxi developer Joby Aviation.
The UK-based long-haul carrier announced on 16 March a partnership with Joby aimed at integrating air taxi operations into its passenger-carrying network.
Asked about a previous plan, announced in 2021, to pursue similar operations with UK air taxi developer Vertical, Virgin tells FlightGlobal that deal was dissolved in November.
“Joby is the market leader and their existing relationship with our shareholder and joint venture partner, Delta, allows us to explore end-to-end journeys in the UK and the US,” Virgin says.
Joby has been partnered since 2022 with Delta Air Lines, which owns a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic. Together, Delta and Joby have envisioned the roll-out of city centre-to-airport air taxi services that would flow passengers into Delta’s hubs.
Virgin and Joby will pursue a similar model, with air taxi routes established “across the UK” but starting at Virgin’s hubs at Heathrow and Manchester airports.
The carrier says it will boost Joby’s UK market entry “through marketing the service to customers, engaging regulators alongside Joby and helping to build support for the development of landing infrastructure at key airports”.
Virgin envisions an air taxi service in which its passengers can reserve a seat on a four-seat Joby aircraft via Virgin’s mobile app and website.
”We are delighted to be partnering with Joby to bring short-haul, zero-emission flight to airports and cities throughout the UK,” says Shai Weiss, Virgin’s chief executive.
The partnership between Virgin and Joby comes as a blow to Vertical, which had struck a deal with the airline in June 2021 that included 150 options for the developer’s VX4 electric take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
Through the deal, Vertical had committed to deliver a “Virgin-branded short-haul eVTOL network”. At the time, the companies said they were exploring a joint venture.
The “outstanding warrants” section of Vertical’s recently released annual report shows that Virgin still had a financial stake in Vertical via 2.6 million warrants issued in December 2021.
Notably, Virgin’s 150-unit deal is not listed in Vertical’s most recent breakdown of aircraft pre-orders.
Even without the Virgin commitment, Vertical still maintains a 1,500-unit-strong orderbook – customers include American Airlines, Japan Airlines, Gol and Bristow – and the company claims it is fully funded through 2025 thanks to a recent public offering.
“Vertical Aerospace is the only credible OEM developing an eVTOL to the certification standards set by the UK CAA and EASA, and we have one of the strongest and most diversified orderbooks in the sector.
”We are focused on delivering the most versatile aircraft, capable of six passengers with 30kg luggage per passenger, to the highest standards globally to our customers and, as we reported last week, we are generating excellent momentum in advancing our well-defined Flightpath strategy.”
Joby is generally viewed as the frontrunner in the race among US air taxi developers to clear certification with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), though rivals Archer Aviation and Beta Technologies are considered not far behind.
Both Joby and Archer have stated that they intend to pass that milestone as soon as this year.
The FAA recently temporarily suspended enforcement of its new air-taxi operations and pilot-training rule to allow the provisions to be reviewed by the administration of president Donald Trump.
The rule will be paused until 20 March, which would likely have minimal impact on air taxi developers. But the industry could be affected if the FAA extends the review period.
This story has been updated with an expanded statement from Vertical Aerospace.
