Joby Aviation to launch air-taxis in Asia

California-based startup Joby Aviation provides air-taxi and aerial ridesharing services, the latter being mini aerial vehicles for quick travel within borders. While they are yet to launch their services in their own home state, the brand is already looking to Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea to set up their next ventures.

In Japan, Joby is tying up with ANA airlines to provide aerial ridesharing services in the country. They will also be bringing in their primary investor, Toyota Motors, to provide transportation services on the ground. They are promising an ecosystem of services whereby the user can book a ride from their location to the airport, an aerial ridesharing vehicle, and another ground vehicle to their final destination.

In South Korea, they will be parenting with SKT Telecom to provide air-taxi services as a subscription model. It will give users access to rental cars, hail rides, find parking spaces, and various other services through the T Map mobility platform. While they are not yet introducing aerial ridesharing in this market, they are still trying to create an ecosystem of services that will provide a smooth transition from air to ground.

In the United States, they provide similar services by tying up with Uber, and the startup claims that it helps in reducing the carbon footprint of the industry overall. Uber and Toyota are also primary investors of Joby. What they promise is truly revolutionary in terms of air travel, and the overall experience of flying.

While this may still take a few years to formulate, especially due to the massive amount of governmental roadblocks that Joby has to overcome, it will still be a massive advancement in the sector. No particular date for the release of either service has yet been announced.