Hanneke Weitering is a writer and editor with AIN covering advanced air mobility and new flight technologies. She became an aviation journalist and joined the AIN team in the summer of 2022 after reporting on spaceflight and astronomy for six years at Space.com. After earning a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, she moved to New York City to pursue a master’s degree in science, health, and environmental reporting at New York University&#039;s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. She is now based in Seattle near Boeing Field and spends her free time exploring nature in the Pacific Northwest.

Science & Technology Editor

Hanneke Weitering

Joby Aviation is wrapping up a busy year of eVTOL flight tests and demonstrations while setting ambitious plans for the year ahead. This week, the company announced that it will double its manufacturing capacity, targeting a production rate of four aircraft per month by 2027.&nbsp;
Meanwhile, Joby is preparing to begin “for-credit” certification testing with the FAA in 2026 and recently <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2025-11-06/joby-starts-power-testing-first-faa-conforming-prototype">rolled out the first conforming aircraft</a> bound for type inspection authorization testing. In 2025, the company’s pre-production prototypes completed more than 850 flights and flew more than 9,000 miles.&nbsp;
“Given the maturity of our air-taxi program and the significant demand we’re seeing for our aircraft, we’re confident now is the right time to invest in the equipment, facilities and people required to accelerate production, and we look forward to doing so <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2024-10-02/toyota-agrees-500m-investment-jobys-evtol-aircraft">with Toyota</a>, the world’s largest auto manufacturer, at our side,” said Joby founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt.
On December 18, the California-based company announced plans to build vertiport facilities at 25 locations across the U.S. in partnership with Metropolis Technologies. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Metropolis Technologies is North America’s largest parking company and operates more than 4,200 parking facilities.&nbsp;
Joby and other developers of eVTOL aircraft and vertiport infrastructure have long suggested that the rooftops of underutilized parking garages could be repurposed as hubs for commercial eVTOL air taxi services.&nbsp;
“For air taxis to deliver on their promise of seamless urban travel, they must connect directly with the existing ground transportation ecosystem,” Bevirt commented. “By leveraging existing parking infrastructure to create mobility hubs, we can deliver on our vision of seamless connectivity for our customers and also maximize the value of those sites without needing to build infrastructure from scratch.”
Metropolis Technologies, which operates parking facilities at more than 75 airports, uses artificial intelligence and computer vision technology to streamline and automate its services. Joby said it intends to leverage Metropolis’ AI-based recognition tools and baggage-handling services at its vertiports.&nbsp;
“The real world is the next frontier for AI, and our partnership with Joby marks a critical first step in expanding the Metropolis platform into true mobility hubs to deliver remarkable value for Members and partners alike,” said Metropolis CEO Alex Israel. “We are taking the data and recognition capabilities we've built in our network and extending it to air travel, creating the seamless, personalized, and magical experience that is the foundation of the ‘recognition economy.’”

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

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Joby Aviation is wrapping up a busy year of eVTOL flight tests and demonstrations while setting ambitious plans for the year ahead. 

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News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

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