A piloted electric air taxi was set to cross Tampa Bay on Friday morning, flying from Albert Whitted Airport in downtown St. Petersburg to Tampa International Airport. The flight was the first in Florida under a federal pilot program meant to test whether such aircraft can fit into the nation’s transportation system.
What it will cost riders, and when anyone can book a seat, remains unanswered. Neither Joby Aviation, the company behind the aircraft, nor state officials have announced a ticket price or a start date for passenger service.
The aircraft is not entering commercial service. Joby says it is in the final stages of obtaining type certification from the Federal Aviation Administration. The Tampa Bay trip is the opening leg of a weeklong series of piloted flights across the state. Orlando International Airport and Kennedy Space Center are next.
Those flights will help chart the first phase of what Florida calls its “Aerial Highway Network,” a planned system of electric aircraft connecting cities. Florida is one of eight states chosen for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL, Integration Pilot Program, announced in March. The state plans to test passenger service, cargo delivery, automation, and medical response.
The aircraft lifts off and lands vertically, then shifts to forward flight on six tilting propellers. It is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers at roughly 200 mph. Joby says it is far quieter than a conventional helicopter, though that claim comes from the company and was not independently verified.
Joby founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt told FOX Business in April that the goal is to make daily flight affordable for everyone. The FAA administrator said the flights will produce data to help set safety standards for routine operations.
Taxpayers have a stake in how this develops. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation this year allowing the Florida Department of Transportation to fund vertiport infrastructure statewide. Vertiports are the specialized landing facilities these aircraft require. The department is also building SunTrax Air along Interstate 4 as a testing site for advanced air mobility. How much public money will go toward that infrastructure has not been detailed in the reporting reviewed for this story.
The public was invited to Albert Whitted Park at 8:45 a.m. for a livestreamed event. Organizers did not announce an exact takeoff time, and the schedule depended on weather and other factors.
The route carries local history. On Jan. 1, 1914, pilot Tony Jannus flew former St. Petersburg Mayor Abe Pheil across the bay in what is recognized as the world’s first scheduled commercial airline flight. More than a century later, Joby is deliberately retracing that path.
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