Your next ride with Uber could be in the sky

Uber riders in Dubai will be able to book rides on Joby's air taxis later this year, the companies said on Wednesday. Uber/Joby 2026-02-25T13:00:01.252Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. Uber riders in Dubai will have a new transport option later this year: Air taxis. Startup Joby will start offering rides bookable through the Uber app, the companies said Wednesday. Joby is working on getting regulatory approval to launch a similar service in the US. Uber riders can hail a car, motorbike, or boat, depending on where they are in the world. Soon, helicopter-like air taxis will join that list. Passengers will be able to book an air taxi ride through the Uber app in Dubai before the end of 2026, the company said on Wednesday. The option will use flying electric vehicles created by startup Joby Aviation.Joby's aircraft can fit up to four passengers and are flown by commercial pilots, the companies said. Joby will operate four landing locations, or "vertiports," in Dubai, connecting Dubai International Airport with a mall, a hotel on Palm Jumeirah, and the American University of Dubai. While Uber and Joby don't have immediate plans to bring the air taxis to the US, the companies said that Joby is in the final stage of certifying its service with the Federal Aviation Administration."We've long believed in the power of advanced air mobility to transform how people move through cities," Sachin Kansal, Uber's Chief Product Officer, said. The Uber partnership makes "this new mode of transportation familiar and accessible, connecting the ground and the sky through a system designed to save people time and fit seamlessly into how they already move," said Eric Allison, Joby's chief product officer.Passengers will be able to book Uber Air rides on Joby aircraft alongside regular ride-hailing trips, the companies said. Air taxi trips will also include Uber Black pickup and drop-off from passengers' origin and destination. Once approved, Joby plans to eventually offer its service in markets including New York, Los Angeles, the UK, and Japan.Joby's planned Dubai debut comes almost six years after the startup acquired Uber Elevate, the ride-hailing app's air mobility division. Under the 2020 deal, Uber invested $75 million in the company. It was one of multiple divisions that Uber shed as transportation demand cratered during the first year of the pandemic. Around the same time, Uber sold its self-driving car division to startup Aurora — something it made up for last year by announcing a partnership with Lucid and Nuro for robotaxis.Have a tip? Contact this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com or via encrypted messaging app Signal at 808-854-4501. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.