Virgin Atlantic has abandoned its ties with Vertical Aerospace in favor of a deal with US aviation taxi developer Joby Aviation.
UK-based Longhall Carrier announced a partnership with Joby on March 16th, with the aim of integrating the operations of air taxis into a network that carries passengers.
Asked about previous plans announced in 2021, Virgin tells FlightGlobal that the contract was dissolved in November in pursuit of vertical operations for UK air taxi developers.
“Joby is a market leader and an existing relationship with shareholders and joint venture Delta, allowing us to explore end-to-end travel in the UK and the US,” says Virgin.
Joby has partnered with Delta Air Lines, which has owned a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic since 2022. Together, Delta and Jobs envision the deployment of aerial taxi services in the city centre where passengers flow into Delta hubs.
Virgin and Joby pursue similar models and will establish an air taxi route “all the UK” but begins at Virgin's Hubs at Heathrow and Manchester airports.
The carrier says it will help Joby enter the UK market “which will help market services to customers, engage regulators along with Joby and build support for the development of landing infrastructure at major airports.”
Virgin is envisaged an air taxi service that allows passengers to reserve seats on four-seat Joby aircraft via Virgin's mobile app and website.
“We are pleased to partner with Joby to bring in short-distance zero-emission flights to airports and cities across the UK,” says Shai Weiss, Virgin CEO.
The Virgin and Joby partnership came as a vertical blow that signed contracts with the airline, including 150 options for developers' VX4 Electric Takeoff and Landing (EVTOL) aircraft.
Through the agreement, Vertical has committed to providing a “Virgin Brand Short-Distance EVTOL Network.” At the time, the companies said they were exploring joint ventures.
The “Unresolved Warrants” section of Vertical's recently released annual report shows that Virgin still had Vertical's financial interests through the 2.6 million warrants issued in December 2021.
In particular, Virgin's 150 units trades are not listed in Vertical's recent Aircraft Reservation Office breakdown.
Even without the virgin commitment, Vertical still maintains a strong order book of 1,500 units. Customers include American Airlines, Japan Airlines, GOL and Bristow. The company claims it will be fully funded until 2025 thanks to a recent public offering.
“We no longer work with Virgin Atlantic, but we continue to have one of the most powerful and most diverse order books in the sector,” Vertical said. “We continue to focus on providing our customers with the highest standards of accreditation globally.”
Joby is generally considered the forefront of racing among US aviation taxi developers to clear Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certifications, but rivals Archer Aviation and Beta Technologies are not far behind.
Both Joby and Archer say they intend to pass that milestone soon this year.
The FAA recently temporarily suspended the enforcement of new air tax operations and pilot training rules to allow regulations to be reviewed under the control of President Donald Trump.
This rule will be suspended until March 20th. This can have minimal impact on air taxi developers. However, if the FAA extends the review period, the industry could be affected.
