ANA Holdings and Joby Aviation have announced a successful public flight demonstration of Joby’s air taxi at the Expo 2025 Osaka in Kansai, Japan. The flight, which Joby says is the first of its kind at a world expo, included vertical takeoff, full transition to wingborne flight and vertical landing. Over the course of 13 days, Joby plans to conduct more than 20 flights.
Joby’s aircraft, flying with ANA livery at the expo, is designed to carry a pilot and up to four passengers at speeds of up to 200 mph (320 km/h). The flights are an important step in gaining public acceptance of air taxis and also provide valuable data on airspace integration, which will be used in collaboration with the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) for development of regulatory pathways for advanced air mobility in the region.
The flight was conducted as part of Joby and ANA’s plan to build a national air taxi ecosystem in Japan with a phased rollout beginning in Tokyo. This development will include a network of vertiports, pilot training programmes and aircraft maintenance support. The companies say they are actively engaged with partners across real estate, manufacturing and local governments.
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