You’ve probably spent a fair amount of time in standstill traffic on your morning and afternoon commute. In the San Francisco Bay Area, drivers lost about 112 hours to traffic in 2025 alone. However, Joby Aviation recently took a literal higher road, flying its electric air taxi across the San Francisco skyline to show that commuting doesn’t have to be a slow grind on the ground.

The flight, piloted by Andrea Pingitore, started at Oakland International Airport and headed toward the Golden Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands. Joby’s recent trip was the start of the “2026 Electric Skies Tour.” The company plans to take this aircraft to cities across the country to show people that quiet, emissions-free flight is getting very close to being a real service you can use.

Scaling Air Taxis Across the Country

Joby has already logged over 50,000 miles across its fleet. Now, they are looking to start early operations in 10 states, including New York, Florida, and Texas.

To keep up with the goal of making these flights a daily reality, the company is also growing its footprint on the ground. They recently picked up a 700,000-square-foot facility in Dayton, Ohio. Between that and their California sites, they hope to eventually produce up to 500 aircraft a year.

“The Bay Area is home to the world’s most innovative companies, including Joby, but it’s also an area with significant traffic and unique geographical barriers,” said JoeBen Bevirt, the founder and CEO of Joby. “Our technology provides an opportunity to build on the immense potential of this region while protecting it for the next generation.

Bevirt added, “By providing clean, quiet service with minimal infrastructure investment we are making flight an everyday reality for the community.”

With help from partners like Delta Air Lines and Uber, the goal is to turn those hour-long traffic jams into short, several-minute trips through the air.