Joby, a California-based air transportation company will soon begin service in Fort Worth. The company signed a lease at the Perot Field Airport Fort Worth Alliance Airport.
The company operates as a rideshare program where customers can book an all-electric air taxi on an app. The ride will include an Uber to and from the airport to the rider’s final destination.
The aircraft is an electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle that can reach top speeds of 200 mph. The aircrafts are designed to carry up to four passengers and a pilot.
According to the Joby website, the aircrafts will have zero operating emissions.
In March, the Federal Aviation Administration introduced the Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Integration Pilot Program. Under the program, Joby can begin operations in Arizona, Florida, Idaho, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Utah.
Through the program, Joby will work with the Texas Department of Transportation to connect Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and eventually Houston with air taxi networks.
Joby Aviation’s Chief Policy Officer Greg Bowles, said that he chose Fort Worth after visiting Perot Field two years ago, and he called the site a “cornerstone of aviation for the region.”
“Establishing a presence in Texas puts Joby in one of the most exciting markets in the country. This site gives us a base to demonstrate the value of air mobility services across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and the state,” Bowles said in a news release.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Maven Navarro is a local news reporter at the Star-Telegram. She covers Fort Worth and Tarrant County.