BLADE Brings Affordable Helicopter Transfers to the L.A. Area
By-the-seat flights now available in Los Angeles for rates starting at $195/seat
BLADE Urban Air Mobility, Inc. (“BLADE”) is expanding in the Los Angeles area to include by-the-seat helicopter routes and a new Downtown LA rooftop heliport lounge just steps from such hotels as The NoMad LA, Ritz Carlton LA, The Standard DTLA, as well as LA Live and the Staples Center. This development advances the company’s goal of offering affordable intra-city aviation within reach of business travelers and the traveling public.
New helicopter routes are between key Los Angeles destinations including Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), BLADE Lounge DTLA, the LA Westside, Orange County and Burbank. Additionally, flights to Downtown Los Angeles will be conveniently scheduled for hockey and basketball games, as well as marquee concerts and events at the Staples Center. Starting at $195 per seat and with flight times as short as five minutes, BLADE gives fliers fast and affordable alternatives to braving the often gridlocked LA car traffic.
Additionally, fliers who are connecting to or disembarking from a flight operated by American Airlines may opt to be escorted between the helicopter and their flight with American’s new meet-and-assist program for premium-cabin guests. The service provides a seamless, on-tarmac connection between American and BLADE flights via American’s Cadillac service, and is available in both Los Angeles (LAX) and New York (JFK). This service is available for an additional fee and may be purchased over the BLADE app by choosing ‘American add-on’ or on the BLADE website.
BLADE’s LA operations utilizes Airbus H130 helicopters, aircraft with one of the lowest noise and environmental footprints in the helicopter industry. All flights strictly follow Los Angeles noise abatement routes, altitudes and best practices. BLADE is also taking important steps in reducing our carbon footprint, having achieved carbon neutrality for the company in its entirety this past summer.
“Since expanding our continuous flight service in Manhattan and San Francisco, we are seeing faster-than-expected adoption by people choosing to fly rather than drive,” says Shivani Parikh, West Coast General Manager of BLADE. “Additionally, Los Angeles is on the forefront of embracing multi-modality transportation options such as auto, bike and scooter shares as new ways of saving time. BLADE is now enabling another mobility option—the ability to fly short-distances bypassing ground traffic on the way to work, home, the airport or to key leisure destinations.”
BLADE is a digitally-powered aviation enterprise that arranges helicopter flights for civilian travel by leveraging its technology platform, strategic lounge network of 10 dedicated properties in four states, and its integrated partnerships with over 30 aviation operators. The company has expanded from one route in one state to 22 core routes in seven U.S. states. SOme 75% of BLADE’s first-time helicopter passengers have never flown in a helicopter before flying BLADE.
