Joby says its air taxi is 84% through FAA Stage Three certification

Air taxi developer Joby has offered a few reminders of why it has gained the reputation for being among (if not the) leading advanced air mobility (AAM) companies with an update to investors revealing it had completed 84% of its Stage Three certification work with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

That word came as part of Joby’s 2023 third quarter results report, which was explained in more detail by the AAM company’s CEO, JoeBen Bevirt, during a call with financial analysts and journalists. Those comments included a discussion of Joby’s current air taxi certification activity with the FAA, which was said to have accepted 84% of the startup’s Stage Three proposals.

The full FAA Type Certification process for new aircraft comprises five different phases, so despite its progress, Joby still has a way to go before getting the all-clear for its air taxi service launch. Still, with the current stage covering critical systems like batteries and high-voltage power distribution in the AAM plane, its nearing completion was hailed as a reason for cheer.

“This is a critically important milestone for us that builds on a long history of battery development and testing, and brings us one important step closer to certification,” Bevirt said during the call, according to reports. “We’re now proceeding at pace in our work on stage four.”

In addition to that news, Joby revisited recent milestones in the development of its prototype air taxi and its efforts to become the first company to launch AAM services.

Included in those bullet points was the delivery of its first test AAM aircraft to the US Air Force under the company’s $131 million contract to help develop military applications. Joby similarly cheered its initiation last week of the first piloted test flights of any electric takeoff and landing air taxi.

And since quarterly result reports have become the foremost show-me-the-money demonstrations of financial credibility, Joby also revealed that it possesses a considerable $1.1 billion war chest in cash and short-term investments to finance its push to obtain FAA certification and launch passenger services in 2025.

Not surprisingly, Wall Street reacted to those details with refound assurance Thursday, driving the cyclically dumped and revived startup’s share price to a 13.6% close. By Friday’s opening bell, however, trading by those same ever-fickle investors had led gains to slacken considerably.