Delta getting into drones and air taxis... what do y'all think?

Drone News Forum
1

So Delta is making some big moves in aviation tech. At CES 2025, they announced a partnership with Joby Aviation to add electric air taxis to their Delta Concierge service. Basically, you could take a Joby eVTOL from your home to the airport instead of dealing with traffic. Sounds futuristic, but they haven’t said much about pricing or when it’ll actually happen.

On top of that, Delta also got FAA approval to use drones for aircraft maintenance. Right now, they’re using them to inspect planes after lightning strikes, and apparently, it cuts inspection time from 16 hours down to 90 minutes.

I’m curious—does this seem like the future of air travel, or just a cool idea that’ll take years to actually happen?

2

Honestly, this all sounds awesome but super far off. The air taxi thing seems like a rich people perk more than anything.

3

Porter said:
Honestly, this all sounds awesome but super far off. The air taxi thing seems like a rich people perk more than anything.

Right? I feel like this is gonna be one of those things where they roll it out in NYC and LA first, and then maybe years later, normal people get to use it.

4

@DroneDynamo1
Yeah, plus they didn’t say anything about pricing, which usually means ‘if you have to ask, you can’t afford it.’

5

The drone inspections sound super useful though. Cutting inspections from 16 hours to 90 mins is a game-changer.

6

Kitt said:
The drone inspections sound super useful though. Cutting inspections from 16 hours to 90 mins is a game-changer.

For sure. And it’s safer too since it means fewer people climbing all over the plane.

7

@Fifer
I read that FAA is only letting them use drones for cosmetic stuff like checking for paint damage right now. If they get full approval, that’s when it’ll be a big deal.

8

Wait… what’s an eVTOL? Is that just a fancy way of saying flying car?

9

Tracy said:
Wait… what’s an eVTOL? Is that just a fancy way of saying flying car?

Kind of, but not really. eVTOL stands for ‘electric vertical takeoff and landing.’ So it’s basically like a drone that people can sit in, but way bigger and meant for short trips.

10

@Vic
Ohhh gotcha. So more like a helicopter but electric?

11

Tracy said:
@Vic
Ohhh gotcha. So more like a helicopter but electric?

Yeah, pretty much. Just quieter and (hopefully) cheaper to run.

12

So Delta’s not the first airline doing this, right? I feel like I read about another airline using drones for inspections a while back.

13

Charlie said:
So Delta’s not the first airline doing this, right? I feel like I read about another airline using drones for inspections a while back.

Yeah, Japan Airlines is working on self-flying air taxis with a company called Wisk. And LATAM (a Brazilian airline) started testing drones for aircraft inspections back in 2022. Delta’s just getting in on the trend now.

14

@Remy
Interesting. I wonder if they’re all using the same tech or if Delta is trying to do something different.

15

I don’t see the Joby thing actually being available anytime soon. They still need FAA approval, plus where are they even gonna land? Most cities don’t have spots for these things yet.

16

Sage said:
I don’t see the Joby thing actually being available anytime soon. They still need FAA approval, plus where are they even gonna land? Most cities don’t have spots for these things yet.

Yeah, exactly. The infrastructure just isn’t there yet. You can’t just have people landing electric helicopters in their driveways lol.

17

@Fifer
Right? I feel like the biggest challenge is gonna be where these things take off and land, especially in busy cities.