Both Now Publish About 100 Miles, but They Design Around Different Trips

The clean “150 miles versus short hops” comparison is out of date: current product language converges near 100 miles, while mission strategy remains different.

The range comparison has changed

Joby’s current investor and technology materials describe an aircraft optimized for urban routes with a target range up to 100 miles on one charge. Archer has also published a range up to 100 miles for Midnight, while emphasizing repeated 20-to-50-mile sectors and, historically, trips around 20 miles with charging between them. On present public targets, this is not simply a 150-mile aircraft against a 60-mile aircraft.

The larger Joby number still has a legitimate history. A pre-production prototype flew 154.6 miles on one charge in 2021, and older company materials used 150 miles. A demonstration flight establishes that one aircraft completed one profile. It does not automatically become the range of the later production-intent configuration with a commercial payload, required reserve and approved operating limitations.

“Up to” leaves the mission boundary open

Aircraft range depends on payload, route, altitude, wind, temperature, battery condition, takeoff and landing energy, and reserve requirements. Electric aircraft are especially sensitive to hover time because vertical lift consumes energy rapidly. A delayed landing or go-around can matter more than a few extra cruise miles.

Manufacturers also may quote range with different reserve assumptions. Joby has described 100 miles plus energy reserves in some announcements, while brief product pages may state only the target. Archer’s maximum and its optimized route length answer different questions. Unless both values share payload and reserve definitions, subtracting one from the other creates false precision.

Route design explains the positioning

Archer’s strategy has repeatedly centered airport and metropolitan links. A 20-to-50-mile sector can replace a much longer drive while keeping charging windows predictable. Designing around that pattern may favor cycle life, turnaround and fleet availability over using every kilowatt-hour for one maximum-distance flight.

Joby presents a network that also includes short urban journeys but leaves room for longer links. Its 200 mph speed target and 100-mile range support routes where cruise occupies more of the mission. The company nevertheless says more than 99 percent of modeled urban routes in cities such as New York and Los Angeles are much shorter than 100 miles. Maximum reach is therefore capacity, not the expected length of every fare.

Payload is part of range

Both aircraft are designed for a pilot and four passengers, with payload statements around 1,000 pounds. Four people, carry-on bags and seasonal clothing can consume that allowance differently. A published maximum payload and a published maximum range are rarely achievable simultaneously unless the manufacturer explicitly says so.

A fair passenger comparison needs a payload-range curve. It should show available distance at representative cabin loads, with a declared reserve and end-of-life battery assumption. Operators care about dispatch range on a hot afternoon after hundreds of cycles, not only a fresh-pack engineering flight in favorable weather.

Battery life can favor shorter scheduled legs

Repeatedly using a large fraction of the pack may accelerate degradation or require longer charging. Operating within a narrower state-of-charge band can improve turnaround consistency and leave contingency energy, at the cost of unused nominal range. Archer’s short-leg messaging makes this operating choice explicit. Joby also says its aircraft should recharge during passenger unloading and loading for most target-market trips, indicating that it does not plan to fly every sector to the battery limit.

This is why “range” and “network productivity” can point in different directions. A fleet aircraft that reliably flies four 25-mile sectors with brief ground stops may create more useful capacity than one scheduled near its maximum and held for a longer recovery charge.

Evidence to request

Look for certified payload-range data, reserve policy, energy used in hover and transition, wind allowances, hot-and-cold limitations, charging curves and capacity retained at the warranty boundary. Ask whether the quoted range includes diversion or loiter requirements and whether it assumes a new battery. Those details will matter more than historical press-release arithmetic.

A useful buyer’s comparison

Take one proposed route and model it in both directions during the worst ordinary season. Add passenger mass, baggage, taxi and hover time, a missed approach, wind, required reserve and an end-of-life battery. Then repeat the schedule for a day, including charging. This converts maximum range into dispatch reliability. It may show that both aircraft have ample margin, or that one can carry a fourth passenger on days when the other must reduce load.

Publish the assumptions so another operator can reproduce the comparison.

Bottom line

Current public targets put both aircraft near 100 maximum miles. The durable difference is operational emphasis: Joby preserves a longer-route story, while Archer foregrounds rapid, repeatable 20-to-50-mile work. Certified payload-range curves will decide how large that difference really is.