Uber’s app-based Uber Copter offering—which allowed passengers to hail helicopter rides between Lower Manhattan and John F. Kennedy International Airport (KJFK)—launched in 2019 but was swiftly shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. Years later, the ridesharing platform is looking to improve on the short-lived service.
Uber in 2021 sold its urban air mobility arm, Uber Elevate, to electric air taxi developer Joby Aviation, which on Tuesday said it plans to add aerial passenger services to the popular app. Joby in August acquired the passenger division of New York City-based helicopter and jet charter operator Blade Air Mobility for $125 million. It said a Blade integration on the Uber app could happen as soon as next year.
Blade’s New York operations mainly comprise scheduled helicopter service. Elsewhere, though, it offers chartered flights on third-party rotorcraft, jets, and seaplanes.
Joby’s acquisition covers Blade’s 12 terminals in Southern Europe and New York, including busy airport sites such as JFK International and heliports in Manhattan and the Hamptons. In 2024, they collectively served more than 50,000 passengers, who have demonstrated an appetite for short-hop flights. The company said Uber users will be able to book flights directly through the app across Blade’s network of landing points and passenger lounges.
Blade hubs could also be future vertiport locations for Joby’s electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi, which is designed for a pilot plus four passengers. A prototype aircraft in 2023 completed a demonstration flight out of the Downtown Manhattan Heliport (KJRB). The company is also targeting commercial launches in Los Angeles, the U.K., Japan, and Dubai. Its flagship S4 cruises at about 200 mph (174 knots) and produces a fraction of the noise of helicopters.
A Joby spokesperson told FLYING the company intends to move Blade services into the Uber app and transition them to the air taxi once it is certified. Specific routing will be announced at a later date.
“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,” Andrew Macdonald, president and chief operating officer of Uber, said in a news release.
Uber in the Air
While the agreement with Uber covers only Blade’s existing services, Joby has said it views the acquisition as a launch pad for the S4. The move gives the firm ownership of the facilities it seeks to equip with electric chargers, unlike its FBO electrification agreements with Clay Lacy Aviation and Atlantic Aviation.
It also provides a commercial test environment for the company’s Uber-like ElevateOS software, which it intends to integrate into Blade’s operations.
Joby began working with Uber, which lodged an investment, in 2019. Employees who later came over from Uber Elevate—which lacked an operating system that could meet the demands of the Uber Copter service—would become the architects of ElevateOS.
The platform functions much like Uber itself, with the driver app replaced by a pilot app that monitors fatigue and enables pre and postflight checkouts. Riders, using a mobile app, can be matched with pilots within minutes.
Joby has already tested the platform internally, shuttling employees on-demand with a Cirrus SR22, which like the S4 carries a pilot plus four passengers. The platform also enables payments, which has allowed Joby to charter a handful of trips for external customers. Its use of the system is authorized under the Part 135 permissions it received in 2022.
Joby is still certifying the S4, which means it is likely months or years away from being added to Blade—and, potentially, becoming available on Uber. But the arrow is pointing up for electric air taxis.
The FAA in July, for example, finalized certification guidance for eVTOL and other powered-lift aircraft. Joby and competitor Archer Aviation had already obtained FAA-approved certification bases, but others, such as Beta Technologies and Wisk Aero, now have a clearer path. A 2024 special federal aviation regulation (SFAR), meanwhile, lays out initial operational and pilot training requirements for powered-lift models.
As with commercial drones, the eVTOL rollout will likely be phased. But just as the FAA’s BEYOND program helped create standard operating procedures for drones, a White House-directed eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) could do the same for air taxis.
“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 Joby founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt.
Like this story? We think you’ll also like the Future of FLYING newsletter sent every Thursday afternoon. Sign up now.
