ANA will operate Air Taxis to the 2025 Osaka World Expo
All Nippon Airways (ANA) and US-based startup Joby Aviation are set to operate demonstration eVTOL flights during Expo 2025 in Osaka. The two companies have been cooperating for over a year on bringing air taxi service to Japan.
All Nippon Airways will work together with leading eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) company Joby Aviation to establish flight connections between the Expo 2025 venue on Yumeshima Island and at least one location in Osaka.
Koji Shibata, CEO of ANA Holdings, said, “The Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan provides ANA with a global stage to demonstrate what our partnership together with Joby can deliver. As Japan’s largest airline with 70 years of experience delivering safe and reliable flights to customers, being selected for this prestigious opportunity underscores our dedication to bringing together innovation and operational experience to showcase this revolutionary new service.”
Around 28 million people are expected to visit the Expo between April and October 2025. The demonstration flights will be part of the Expo’s Smart Mobility section, which will have its own vertiport – other eVTOL operators during the Expo will include Japan Airways, Marubeni and SkyDrive.
Joby Aviation’s five-seater eVTOL aircraft can fly up to a range of 240 km and has a maximum speed of 320 km/h. The ultra-quiet vehicle could significantly cut transit times, particularly around busy cities – for example, ANA claims that a trip from Kansai International Airport to Osaka station could be reduced to less than 15 minutes, compared to one hour by car.
The two companies have been cooperating for over a year on bringing air taxi services to Japan after sealing a partnership in February 2022. The objectives of the partnership include developing eVTOL infrastructure, pilot training, meeting regulatory requirements and public acceptance, while automobile giant Toyota has also been involved to explore integration with ground transportation.
JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby Aviation, added, “This is a truly unique opportunity to introduce our aircraft to the world and we’re proud to be working alongside ANAHD to demonstrate what this technology can deliver. The World Expo has long been the home of radical transportation innovation and we’re pleased to be playing a leading role in continuing that trend.”
Joby already has extensive connections in Japan after partnering with Toyota in 2019 – in fact, the carmaker is Joby’s largest outside investor with over $400 million invested to date.
Joby Aviation was established in 2009 and has grown into a global leader in eVTOL tech development. The California-based company has now completed over 1,000 test flights and is aiming for a 2024 launch – it has even signed a partnership with rideshare firm Uber to integrate its air services with ground transportation.
Notable investors in the company include Delta Air Lines – which has pumped $60 million of a potential $200 million into Joby Aviation thus far – with the idea being to develop a “premium home-to-airport solution” that would take Delta passengers home directly from the airport.
Joby Aviation recently began testing its aircraft propellor at the National Full-Scale Aerodynamic Complex (NFAC), the world’s largest wind tunnel facility. The test program “is expected to produce data of unparalleled quality – exceeding what is captured during normal flight testing – due to superior instrumentation and precise control of variables.”
