Joby preps conforming aircraft for TIA flight testing, acquires Blade Air Mobility

Conforming eVTOL aircraft. Source | Joby Aviation

In early August 2025, Joby Aviation (Santa Cruz, Calif., U.S.) has announced recent business developments, including that it is preparing for final assembly of its first conforming aircraft intended for type inspection authorization (TIA) flight tests, as well as its plans to acquire Blade Air Mobility Inc.’s (New York, N.Y., U.S.) urban air mobility (UAM) passenger business.

TIA flight testing of a conforming aircraft is a convergence of three critical initiatives within Joby that are aligned with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) standards: (1) relevant test plan approvals, (2) a design that meets FAA standards and (3) the ability to manufacture the conforming design. Having successfully progressed all three ahead of assembly — including FAA acceptance of more than half of the company’s test plans — this milestone continues to move Joby into the final stage of FAA certification and closer to commercializing its electric eVTOL aircraft. 

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“Every component, every system and every test we have completed over the past 15 years has led us to this point,” says Didier Papadopoulos, president of aircraft OEM. Successful tests have included static load testing on primary aerostructures — where engineers applied forces far exceeding expected flight loads — and testing of aircraft components and systems, incorporating important instrumentation and sensor calibration essential for TIA. “We are now bringing it all together on the first of several aircraft that will be used for the final phase of FAA flight testing.”

Joby expects its pilots to start flying this aircraft in 2025, with FAA pilots following shortly thereafter to directly evaluate the aircraft’s performance and safety. This testing is central to the certification process and forms a key part of the fifth, and final, stage of the type certification process.

The company’s manufacturing expansion in California and Ohio, along with its close collaboration with Toyota, will enable Joby to double its production capacity to 24 aircraft per year.

In addition to these commercialization efforts, Joby Aviation has plans to acquire all of Blade’s passenger business, including operations in the U.S. and Europe and the Blade brand. Blade’s Medical division, which was not included in the transaction and will remain a separate public company, is to partner with Joby on medical transportation.

In addition to unlocking immediate market access and infrastructure across key urban corridors in New York City and Southern Europe, the acquisition will enable Joby to combine its technology with Blade’s decade of experience delivering premium customer transportation at scale, as Joby looks ahead to carrying its first passengers in Dubai in 2026.

Blade flew more than 50,000 passengers in 2024 from a network of 12 urban terminals situated in some of the most important UAM markets globally. This includes dedicated lounge and terminal bases at John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty Airport, as well as the West Side of Manhattan, the East Side of Manhattan and Wall Street. Blade passenger operations are expected to continue as normal, with the business continuing to be led by Blade founder and CEO Rob Wiesenthal as a wholly owned subsidiary of Joby.

By using Blade’s existing infrastructure and gradually transitioning a large loyal base of passengers from conventional helicopters to Joby aircraft, Joby expects to be able to accelerate its commercialization while reducing infrastructure investment requirements and customer acquisition costs. 

As part of the transaction, Joby will also become the preferred eVTOL partner to Blade’s organ transport business — which will remain a separate public company to be renamed Strata Critical Medical — wherever Joby has operations. 

The transaction is expected to close in the coming weeks, subject to satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions.