New York City’s gridlocked streets and unreliable subway service can make trips from Manhattan to JFK Airport treacherous, but a West Coast tech company announced a new, pricier solution on Thursday: electric helicopters.
Joby’s Chief Product Officer Eric Allison said the company would be able to launch the helicopter service at a relatively cheap price, similar to the luxury car services offered by Uber, which is collaborating with the company on the airborne airport connector. The aircraft looks like a chubby dragonfly. It has six electric motors that help it take off and land vertically, and its motors are designed to rotate horizontally while in transit. The aircraft puts out zero operating emissions, according to Joby.
Allison said the company plans to launch the electric helicopters in Dubai by the end of 2025. He said the company has a “handful” of aircrafts in the U.S. that can launch once they’re certified.These seats might be little, but executives from Joby Aviation say you'll only have to sit in them for seven minutes in order to get from lower Manhattan to JFK Airport.