Psychedelic flying car in rainbow sky 2D linear illustration concept

Getty Images

Air taxi companies have mastered a crucial piece of technology: The press release

In a “tongue-in-cheek infographic,” SMG Consulting calculated the flight hours to press release ratio of US air taxi companies.

Max Knoblauch

12/11/25 9:52AM

To follow the electric aircraft industry is to get familiar with the art of the press release.

Companies in the US eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) market, dominated by Archer Aviation, Joby Aviation, and the newly public Beta Technologies, are not shy about letting their investors know what they’re up to. Press releases covering new partnerships, new acquisitions, new markets, and certification updates are published frequently. One might say very frequently, with companies regularly dropping similar releases covering similar updates on the same day.

Now, we’ve got some numbers behind the flurry of PR.

Boutique consulting firm SMG Consulting tallied the number of press releases and flight hours of the major electric aircraft companies through December to calculate the 2025 “flight hours flown per press release” ratio for Archer, Beta, and Joby.

Per the firm’s data, Beta Technologies leads the pack with 63.5 hours flown per release, while the ratio for prose progenitor Archer stuns at roughly a press release per every 18 minutes flown.

Press releases vs. Flight hours — Courtesy of SMG Consulting

According to SMG, those ratios may be thrown off a bit by aircraft type — Beta also makes an aircraft that takes off and lands via runway. When looking at just eVTOL aircraft (air taxi) flight hours, SMG found that the numbers are a bit closer:

eVTOL flight hours — Courtesy of SMG Consulting

In that breakdown, SMG said that Joby leads with about one press release for every 3.2 flight hours, followed by Beta’s 36 minutes and Archer’s 18 minutes.

Hyunsoo Rim

appy birthday

4/1/26

Apple is turning 50 today and it doesn’t look a thing like its younger self

From Macs to iPods, iPhones, and now services, here’s how Apple’s business has looked every 10 years.

The entrance of Allbirds seen from Hayes St. in San Francisco, Calif.

Allbirds, the once buzzy multibillion-dollar sneaker startup, is selling up for $39 million

That’s less than 1% of its peak market cap about four years ago.

Tom Jones3/31/26

Max Knoblauch3/30/26

JetBlue is raising its bag fees as fuel costs squeeze airlines

JetBlue will reportedly hike its bag fees, as the cost of jet fuel continues to climb amid the war in Iran. It’s the latest example of carriers finding ways to push rising costs onto travelers.

Last week, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said that if fuel prices remain elevated, fares would need to rise another 20% for his airline to break even this year.

As CNBC reported, when one airline raises fees, others tend to follow.

Earlier this month, JetBlue hiked its first-quarter outlook for operating revenue per seat mile to between 5% and 7%, saying that strong Q1 demand helped “partially offset additional expenses realized from operational disruptions and rising fuel costs.” Now, the carrier appears to be making moves to further boost revenue to offset those costs.

Earlier on Monday, JetBlue rival Alaska Air lowered its Q1 profit forecast. The refining margins for the carrier’s cheapest fuel option — sourced from Singapore and representing about 20% of Alaska’s overall supply — have spiked 400% since February.

JetBlue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.