Joby vs Archer: the FAA Certification Race to Carry the First Air Taxi Passengers

Joby Aviation and Archer Aviation are the two publicly listed US eVTOL developers with FAA certification milestones, named airline customers and operational pathways into commercial service. Every other eVTOL company in the United States is at minimum 12 to 18 months behind the certification position these two have established.

Joby is in the fifth and final stage of FAA type certification, the type inspection authorisation stage, which it entered with its first conforming aircraft flying in March 2026. It has five aircraft flying and 12 in production as of the second quarter of 2026, and it is targeting first passengers in 2026. On November 4, Joby said it had completed a wide range of for-credit testing with the FAA in that final stage. Joby is also acquiring Boeing Wisk Aero, Insitu and SkyGrid businesses in a deal signed August 9, 2026, with the antitrust waiting period expired and closing targeted for year-end 2026.

Archer became the first eVTOL manufacturer to receive 100 percent FAA acceptance of its Means of Compliance, and in April 2026 became the first to close Phase 3 of the four-phase type certification process. Neither company gave a date for an FAA type certificate in its third-quarter results. Archer is also building a defense business: at the Farnborough International Airshow in July, Archer and Anduril unveiled Thunder, a Group 5 hybrid-electric tiltrotor designed to fly as a pilotless wingman, with first flight targeted for 2027.