(Photo Source: flyblade.com)- On-demand helicopter ride service app, Blade, is set to enter India in March 2019, connecting Mumbai to heliports in Pune and Shirdi, a major pilgrimage site in India.
- The company claims that the helicopter ride will trim an eight-hour journey to 35 minutes, saving hours in traffic for flyers.
- Blade has not yet revealed the prices for the helicopter ride in India. However, in New York City, the ride incurs $200 between JFK International Airport and Manhattan, CNBC reported.
American helicopter ride service app, Blade, is betting that India’s congested cities will soon require an alternative mode of travel to escape increasing traffic.
The company is planning to soon launch a pilot program called Urban Air Mobility (“UAM”) that will connect metropolitan Mumbai to heliports in Pune and Shirdi, a major pilgrimage site in India.
Blade, along with Hunch Ventures, India, a private equity firm, will launch Mumbai in March 2019. It will have operational hubs in Juhu and Mahalaxmi that will offer flights through the route.
“India’s major cities are consistently ranked as the most congested in the world,” Rob Wiesenthal, CEO of Blade, said in a statement. “By broadening consumers’ access to on-demand
aviation, we can start to mitigate these issues today, while building the foundation for Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) services tomorrow.”
Blade has not yet revealed the prices for the helicopter ride in India. However, for the US, the ride incurs $200 between JFK International Airport and Manhattan,
CNBC reported.
The company first launched its services in New York City in 2014. Other services include trips around Miami, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
It currently requires users to book a slot on its app and punch in their credit card details. The passengers can either choose from its existing flights at a specified time or crowdsource a flight according to their convenience, according to the
CNBC report.
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