BLADE has today announced an interesting expansion to their airport helicopter service. For those of you not familiar, BLADE is basically the Uber of helicopters — they’re the largest arranger of helicopter flights for civilian travel in the US. They’re ultimately an air charter broker and not a direct air carrier, and work with DOT/FAA licensed air carriers to provide their service.
BLADE has now announced a more consistent and reasonably priced option for flying between Manhattan and JFK.
“BLADE Continuous” will offer continuous helicopter flights between Manhattan and New York JFK Airport every weekday from 7AM until 7PM.
The new five minute service will cost $195 one-way per person, which they say is approximately the same cost as an SUV service doing the same route during rush hour. It will operate from BLADE Lounge West at the West 30th Street Heliport. Ground transportation between the JFK helipad and all commercial terminals is included.
The BLADE Lounge West is located just 1,000 feet from Hudson Yards. Meanwhile at JFK, BLADE will have a presence in the lobby of the soon to open TWA Hotel.
As it’s described, this shared service will be the largest urban air mobility initiative in the United States, and long term they hope to lower costs even further.
Here’s a video showing the experience to JFK:
Meanwhile here’s a video showing the experience from JFK:
This is certainly much more reasonable than their previous pricing. This could represent significant time savings compared to driving, so I’m sure many will find this to be worthwhile. However, be aware that BLADE limits you to one 20 pound commercial airline carry-on per person, which is a major limitation if you’re traveling with more stuff.
Furthermore, while not luxurious, the subway and AirTrain to JFK do provide a consistent travel time, and can be a great option during rush hour.
Can you see yourself using the new BLADE Continuous service between the city and JFK?
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