Joby to acquire Blade’s passenger business
Joby Aviation has agreed to acquire Blade Air Mobility’s passenger transportation business.
Passenger operations are expected to continue as normal, remaining under the leadership of founder and CEO Rob Wiesenthal as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Joby.
The acquisition includes all of Blade’s passenger business, including operations in the US and Europe, as well as the Blade brand.
Joby will pay Blade stock or cash up to $125m, subject to customary indemnity provisions and inclusive of $35m of holdbacks which will be released subject to the completion of certain performance milestones and retention of certain employees.
The transaction is expected to close in the coming weeks.
Blade’s Medical division will remain a separate public company and be renamed Strata Critical Medical. Joby will become its “preferred eVTOL partner”, using the OEM’s aircraft to transport organs where possible.
JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO, Joby Aviation, said: “This is a strategically important acquisition that will support the successful launch of Joby’s commercial operations in Dubai, our subsequent global rollout and our continued leadership in the sector. Over the last decade, Rob and the team at Blade have built a world-class passenger experience that demonstrates the value of vertical lift.”
Blade flew more than 50,000 passengers in 2024 from a network of 12 urban terminals including lounge and terminal bases at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty Airport and Wall Street.
A spokesperson for Joby told us the acquisition gives the company a “significant headstart”, helping to reduce both infrastructure investment and customer acquisition costs.
Blade’s Wiesenthal said: “Blade was founded with the mission of democratising short-distance air travel by facilitating the transition from conventional rotorcraft to quiet, emissions-free electric aircraft, and I believe there is no better partner than Joby to make that mission a reality.”
Joby also plans to integrate its in-house developed ElevateOS software tools into Blade’s passenger operations in an effort to drive cost efficiency and improve passenger experience.
The Californian eVTOL developer’s long-term vision is to electrify Blade routes with their aircraft, beginning as soon as FAA certification is complete. “We’ll be working in the interim with the Blade team to further define how we will execute this transition,” added Joby’s spokesperson.
The deal includes Blade’s bases in southern Europe. A region regulated by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) which is stipulating passenger-carrying eVTOLs certify at a safety level of 10 to -9 or one in one billion catastrophic incidents. This is a higher level of safety than the 10 to -8 (or one in 100,000) framework issued by the FAA.
Joby confirmed it is continuing “a great dialogue” with EASA as regulations mature.
“We’re seeing undeniable momentum amongst global regulators, including through the National Aviation Authority Network. As the eVTOL industry comes to a more mature stage, we see key regulators moving from special approaches into more harmonised pathways,” added the spokesperson. “For Joby, we are ecstatic with the progress with the FAA and the broader global regulatory progress.”
