A developer of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxis will give attendees of one of the world’s premier business aviation events a glimpse of the future.
From October 14-16, thousands will gather at the National Business Aviation Association’s annual Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) in Las Vegas—including eVTOL manufacturer Joby Aviation. Attendees won’t be able to hail Joby’s electric air taxi just yet, though it will be on display. Instead, the company will offer scheduled helicopter flights through its newly acquired Blade Urban Air Mobility service.
Continuous flights will transport up to seven passengers between exhibits at the Las Vegas Convention Center and Henderson Executive Airport (KHND). There, aircraft from Bombardier, Cirrus, Gulfstream, Honda, Pilatus, Textron, and other manufacturers of light jets, turboprops, helicopters, and ultra long-range jets will be showcased as part of the Aircraft Connection exhibit. Seats start at $195 for NBAA members and $245 for nonmembers.
“Blade pioneered the urban, by-the-seat vertical transportation model, which will be an essential component of the future of advanced air mobility,” Ed Bolen, president and CEO of NBAA, said in a statement.
NBAA and Blade have partnered for several years. Now, though, Joby is in the mix. Under the air taxi developer’s ownership, Blade could look very different.
Sharpening the Blade
Joby’s S4 is unlike any aircraft flying today.
Capable of lifting off vertically like a helicopter and cruising at up to 150 mph on fixed wings, the eVTOL is billed as the best of both worlds, promising faster, quieter, zero-emission trips in cities such as New York and Los Angeles. Joby for years has partnered with Delta Air Lines and developed the model for home-to-airport routes for as many as four passengers.
Investor and manufacturing partner Toyota Motor Corp. is supporting initial S4 production in Marina, California, which will later scale up at a facility in Dayton, Ohio. So far, Joby test aircraft have flown more than 40,000 miles. That includes a public demonstration at the California International Airshow in Salinas this past weekend.
Blade for years had aimed to transition from helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to eVTOL models. It previously ordered up to 20 Alia aircraft from Beta Technologies and agreed to purchase flight hours on Embraer subsidiary Eve Air Mobility’s air taxi. Joby’s $125 million acquisition of its passenger business, therefore, made plenty of sense.
In addition to the Blade platform, which served more than 50,000 customers in 2024, the deal netted Joby 12 facilities, including several in New York. Like its competitors, Joby has pursued electrification deals with FBO networks such as Clay Lacy Aviation and Atlantic Aviation, which has since acquired its own vertiport subsidiary. Now, it owns some of the real estate it plans to electrify.
Joby also plans to use Blade as an incubator for its Uber-like ElevateOS platform, which will match riders with pilots. As soon as next year, ElevateOS could debut on Uber itself. Joby in September told FLYING it plans to move Blade services into the Uber app and transition them to the S4 as soon as it is certified.
SMG Consulting’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Reality Index, which tracks companies’ progress toward commercialization, predicts that will occur in early 2027. But Joby representatives will field questions about the Blade of the future from NBAA-BACE attendees at the Blade check-in area.
“NBAA attendees will not only enjoy Blade’s urban air mobility services today using conventional rotorcraft but will also see the quiet and emission-free future with Joby’s static display of its next-generation aircraft,” said Rob Wiesenthal, CEO of Blade.
Joining Joby at the event will be competitor Archer Aviation, whose Midnight air taxi also took flight at the California International Airshow, and Boeing air taxi unit Wisk Aero. Also in attendance will be flight automation provider Skyryse and Otto Aerospace, developer of the futuristic Phantom 3500 light business jet.
