Air Taxi Landing
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How many people can an air taxi carry?

Most air taxis on this page carry four passengers or fewer, and most also seat a pilot. Here’s each aircraft’s seat count, what the rules allow, and how a helicopter compares. We checked every source on October 21, 2026.

How many seats do the main air taxis have?

Seat counts from regulators where they publish them, and from the companies otherwise:

No FAA type certificate covers any of these aircraft yet, so the numbers could still change. See how FAA certification works.

Does the pilot take a seat?

On most of them, yes. Joby, Archer, Vertical, BETA, SkyDrive, and Volocopter all plan a pilot on board. In 2024, the FAA issued a rule on how pilots and instructors qualify to fly this new kind of aircraft, which it calls powered-lift. Source: FAA, October 22, 2024.

Two designs give every seat to passengers. The EH216-S has no pilot or flight controls on board. It flies a preset route, and a remote crew on the ground watches each flight and can take control, especially in an emergency, according to China’s regulator. Wisk says its aircraft will fly itself, with people on the ground overseeing every flight. Sources: CAAC special condition for the EH216-S, Wisk, October 3, 2022 (company-stated). See which companies plan a pilot.

How much weight can they carry?

Seats are only part of it. Every aircraft has a weight limit, and passengers, bags, and the pilot all count toward it. The FAA lists a maximum takeoff weight of 4,800 pounds for Joby’s aircraft and 6,500 pounds for Archer’s. That’s the whole aircraft, loaded, not just what it carries. Sources: FAA, March 8, 2024, FAA, May 24, 2024.

Archer expects Midnight to carry more than 1,000 pounds of payload. Volocopter lists a payload of 154 kg (about 340 pounds) for its two-seat VoloXPro, and BETA lists 200 cubic feet of cargo space in the ALIA. Company-stated. Sources: Archer, December 20, 2022, Volocopter, April 22, 2026, BETA aircraft page. Some air taxis carry cargo instead of people. See passenger and cargo labels.

Is there a limit on seats?

In Europe, yes. EASA’s special condition for small VTOL aircraft covers designs with up to nine passenger seats and a maximum takeoff mass of 3,175 kg (7,000 pounds). An aircraft that flies paying passengers must meet its strictest level, which requires it to keep flying and land safely after a failure. Source: EASA SC-VTOL-01, 2019.

China’s special condition for the EH216-S covers aircraft with no more than two seats and a maximum takeoff weight of 650 kg. Source: CAAC special condition for the EH216-S.

How does that compare with a helicopter?

A light helicopter can seat more. Bell lists standard seating of a pilot plus six for its Bell 407. Source: Bell 407 page. Air taxi vs. helicopter compares noise, cost, and rules.

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