INITIAL 2025 ANNOUNCEMENT CONVERTS TO BINDING FRAMEWORK AS UK EXPANSION ACCELERATES

Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY) and Virgin Atlantic have signed a definitive agreement at Farnborough International Airshow 2026, converting the partnership first announced in 2025 into a binding, multi-year commercial framework. Under the agreement, Virgin Atlantic is established as Joby’s exclusive airline partner for air taxi services in the United Kingdom, with a plan to launch initial operations at Virgin Atlantic’s primary UK hubs in London and Manchester before expanding the network across a broader range of cities and communities over time.

Corneel Koster, CEO of Virgin Atlantic, said the agreement marked an exciting next chapter in the partnership with Joby and a significant step towards bringing electric air taxi services to the UK, creating more seamless journeys for customers and making it easier than ever to travel between towns, cities and airports. JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby Aviation, said Virgin Atlantic’s dedication to a world-class customer experience made them the right partner to represent Joby in the UK, and that the country was one of the most exciting markets for the technology.

ROUTE TIMINGS AND THE CASE FOR ELECTRIC AIR MOBILITY IN UK CITIES

The routes identified in the announcement illustrate the time advantage that vertical take-off and landing air taxis can offer over surface transport in congested urban environments. The journey from Heathrow Airport to Central London — a route that can take well over an hour by road under typical traffic conditions — is projected to take as little as eight minutes by Joby air taxi. The Manchester Airport to Leeds city centre connection, which takes over an hour by car, is projected at approximately fifteen minutes. Manchester will serve as Joby’s anchor for connections across the North of England. Both city pairs represent corridors where the gap between aircraft travel time and surface transport time is large enough to justify a premium urban air mobility service.

Virgin Atlantic will offer Joby’s air taxi service through its booking platforms, including its mobile app and website, allowing travellers to book a seamless air taxi connection alongside their long-haul flights. This booking integration is commercially significant: it gives Joby access to Virgin Atlantic’s established customer base and airport relationships at both hubs without requiring Joby to build its own direct-to-consumer booking infrastructure from scratch in the UK market.

HOW THE PARTNERSHIP CONNECTS TO DELTA AND TRANSATLANTIC STRATEGY

The Virgin Atlantic agreement builds directly on Joby’s existing partnership with Delta Air Lines, which holds a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic and has been Joby’s US airline partner since 2022. The Delta-Virgin Atlantic transatlantic partnership means that a passenger flying Delta from a US city to London can, in principle, connect seamlessly to a Joby air taxi service at Heathrow for the final leg to Central London — an end-to-end premium travel experience that spans multiple transport modes under connected brand partnerships.

Joby will retain sole responsibility for aircraft operations, route management and securing UK Civil Aviation Authority certification, which is progressing under the Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement between the FAA and UK CAA, building on Joby’s 2022 validation application. Earlier in July, a full-scale model of Joby’s aircraft was displayed at Potters Fields Park in London, across from Tower Bridge, allowing members of the public to sit inside the aircraft and experience the cabin ahead of commercial service. The aircraft uses six tilting propellers, allowing vertical take-off and landing with a fraction of the noise produced by conventional helicopters, and is optimised for routes of up to 100 miles. Joby has completed thousands of test flights, including recent demonstrations in San Francisco and New York City.