youtube
In 1914, Tony Jannus flew the world’s first commercial airline flight from the waterfront in St. Petersburg, Florida to Tampa Bay in roughly 23 minutes. The single passenger, former St. Pete Mayor Abram Pheil, paid $400 for the ticket, over $10,000 in 2026 prices.
On October 30, Joby Aviation retraced that route in an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, covering in less than half the time what is a 45-minute trip by car.
Daniel Maguire reports from the St. Petersburg waterfront, and Tasha Keeney breaks down what the flight could mean for the economics of air mobility: why she believes autonomously operated eVTOLs could eventually price competitively with today’s human-driven taxi cabs, why cheaper robotaxi travel on the ground could make congestion worse rather than better, and why she thinks that dynamic may strengthen the case for flying above traffic.
Learn more about ARK’s research at ark-invest.com.
|
