Today is the last day I’m in New York. When I arrived last Sunday, I downloaded the Blade app and contemplated taking a helicopter to JFK because getting to and from NY airports is the worst thing about coming here. Somehow ‘capital of the world’ doesn’t have a Maglev-esque bullet train from any of the three airports.
For the decent price of $195 those that hate being stuck in traffic or stuck in the subway, can ‘get in the choppa’ and arrive at the airport in no time.
Tragically and some would say predictability, one of Blade’s helicopters crashed. No passengers were on board and nobody was seriously hurt. Still, the dramatic footage of the crash made me think twice, if not three times, about booking a flight.
Historically, helicopters in NY for sight-seeing do not have a great track record. There’s a famous photo of a pilot giving the finger before his helicopter ended up in the Hudson. Couple this with a tech company, Blade, running the operation and the questions of safety go viral.
Personally, I am skipping the helicopter this time around. If a proven safety record can be established and if the price goes down to $100 (which the CEO says is possible in the near future), I would certainly reconsider.
What say you?
Never paid more than $75 for a ride to/from any of the 3 airports to/from Manhattan and probably pay an average of $50, so why wate my money? I could save that money and use it to stay in crappy hotels like someone else I know.
Courtyard was five minute walk to conference
Could you smell it coming?
I am going to NY soon and will definitely fly Blade.
While commercial aviation is incredibly safe, we sometimes forget that “incredibly” is the key word here. The act of flying itself has so many variables and dangers that anything other than the most tried-and-tested and regulated passenger planes will have a significantly higher danger level than ground-based transportation.
I am very happy with taking that chance, at the same time I understand not everyone would be.
My hope is enough people are willing to trust Blade for the service to continue, as the convenience beats anything available. For intercontinental arrivals at least, the price point is very fair.
Incredibly safe should be the standard for this too.
Their luggage limit would keep me from flying them before any safety issue.
Lol you have too many bags
I will not fly Blade unless there was a business reason for it (tight schedule). I won’t do it for a joy ride. Before I was thinking about it, using it for non-essential use. I have flown on passenger helicopters.
Just putting this out there. Apparently this helicopter is actually a contractor who has contracts with multiple companies. Last i read it was actually flying to a refueling station for a flight for a different company, not blade.
So is he more diligent when he’s flying for Blade?
Helicopters, due to their very nature tend to crash more than fixed wing planes, and propeller driveern single engine fixed wing planes crash a lot more than larger jets, or multi engine turbo props.
I would be quite happy to take a flight on a Blade helicopter as a special treat, but unless someone else was paying, wouldnt do it regularly.