The Japanese company ANA Holdings has announced the timing of the launch of the first flying taxi routes in Japan. The vehicles will be air taxis from the American company Joby Aviation. The first three routes will start in 2027 and will serve Tokyo airports. Prices promise to remain no higher than the cost of trips by regular taxis, but will take much less time. Today, helicopters are used for similar movements at exorbitant prices.
Image source: Joby Aviation
Joby Aviation offers five-seat vertical take-off and landing air taxis. In the future, they will move on autopilot, but at first there will be a pilot in the cockpit. The company’s modern electric aircraft models are capable of moving at a maximum speed of 322 km/h for a range of up to 240 km. At the moment, these devices have not yet been certified for production and operation, so the characteristics of the commercial version can and will differ from the characteristics of the prototypes.
The choice of Joby Aviation was made due to the support of this developer, including by Toyota. The total amount of Toyota’s investment in Joby Aviation by the end of 2025 will approach $1 billion. Thanks to the attention of investors, Joby Aviation has a good chance of surviving until the start of commercial operation of air taxis, while other creators of a new type of urban air mobility are slowly leaving the race (for example, in 2024 The German company Lilium went bankrupt).
By the way, ANA Holdings and a number of others planned to organize the first air taxi flights with people on board in April 2025 at the Expo 2025 exhibition in Osaka. However, in the absence of certification, only demonstration in unmanned mode remains possible. The Joby Aviation electric aircraft still has not received a license in its homeland, and certainly will not receive one in Japan. The start of operation of the machines has been postponed to 2027 and this is a more or less realistic scenario today.
The first routes will connect Tokyo Narita and Haneda airports. There will also be routes between the tourist centers of Tokyo with Yokohama and Kamakura. A taxi ride between Narita International Airport and central Tokyo today costs about $127. By flying taxi, for about the same money, you can get to your destination in 10–20 minutes. The land route may take an hour or more.
As Joby Aviation admits, the cost of operating a flying taxi for half an hour costs about $100. Carriers charge up to $700 for an hour of helicopter flight. The difference is impressive, especially considering that electric aircraft are less noisy and do not pollute the air with combustion engine exhaust.
ANA Holdings promises to launch the certification process for electric aircraft in Japan and begin equipping runways for them as soon as the aircraft receives the necessary certificate in the United States. It is expected that this will happen during 2025, because in addition to Japan, Joby Aviation air taxis should also take off on a regular basis into the skies of the UAE in Dubai, and this is planned to be organized by the end of 2025 or early 2026.