Delta Air Lines is on a trajectory toward the future with a new partnership set to offer customers flights on an electric plane that will go to and from the airport.
The carrier will partner with Joby, a company that operates all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, to transport passengers from the city to the airport, Delta shared with Travel + Leisure on Tuesday.
The airline plans to start service in New York and Los Angeles in 2024.
“Delta always looks forward and embraces opportunities to lead the future, and we’ve found in Joby a partner that shares our pioneering spirit and commitment to delivering innovative, seamless experiences that are better for our customers, their journeys, and our world,” Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian said. “This is a groundbreaking opportunity for Delta to deliver a time-saving, uniquely premium home-to-airport solution for customers in key markets we’ve been investing and innovating in for many years.”
The code of the service has not been released. However, Delta initially invested $60 million in Joby and can expand its total investment to $200 million in the future.
Joby’s aircraft resembles a helicopter with propellers and have flown more than 1,000 test flights, the company confirmed.
“We share Delta’s unwavering commitment to delivering seamless and sustainable journeys to customers,” Joby’s Founder and CEO, JoeBen Bevirt, said in the statement. “Their history of innovation, along with their vast operational expertise and leadership on climate change, make them incredible partners for Joby, and it’s an honor to be working alongside them.”
Several other airlines had invested in electric planes, including United Airlines, when they purchased 200 four-seat electric planes to invest in flying taxis. As well as Hawaiian Airlines, which invested in electric sea gliders for island-to-island shuttles.
An all-electric passenger plane took off for the first time in September. The aircraft is built to operate flights ranging from 150 miles to 250 miles.
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