NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- Traffic’s back, train delays are all too common and city politics have been boiling over. A new commuter helicopter route is aimed at offering New Yorkers a quick escape hatch.
Blade Air Mobility, now part of Joby Aviation Inc., is starting a pilot service Dec. 1 connecting Manhattan with Westchester County Airport. The weekday flights are aimed at workers who crave the suburbs but are being called back to the office every day. Estimated travel time: 12 minutes.
“With the return of the five-day work week and traffic between the Greater New York City suburbs and Manhattan now exceeding pre-pandemic levels, it was time for Blade to service this demand,” said Rob Wiesenthal, Blade’s chief executive officer.
Blade’s helicopter route bolsters Joby’s foothold in New York as the company seeks regulatory approval for its all-electric air taxis. If the Federal Aviation Administration gives it the green light, Joby plans to land at more New York locations while operating at a lower cost and with less noise, Wiesenthal said.
With the helicopter service’s speed comes a higher price than driving or taking a Metro-North Railroad train. A single flight costs $125 with a Blade commuter pass or $225 without one. The pass costs $250 a week, $1,000 a month, or $10,000 a year for unlimited trips at the lower rate.
The flights will run morning and evening between a private terminal at Westchester’s airport with no Transportation Security Administration checkpoints and Blade Lounge West on 30th Street and 12th Avenue, near the Hudson Yards office hub.
New Yorkers on the ground are increasingly unhappy with chopper flights. Opposition has grown along with the proliferation of tourist, charter and commuter helicopters in New York City in recent years. Complaints to 311 about the whirring overhead hit a high of 59,000 in 2023 compared with only about 3,300 in 2019.
Blade shelved a plan for a similar suburban helicopter service in 2021 after commuters didn’t return to the office as quickly as expected amid the pandemic. This time around, a preview of the service will be available Nov. 28 — Black Friday — to facilitate shopping at Hudson Yards.
That will help people reach Manhattan’s many attractions. In the longer term, perhaps the service will also appeal to people trying to get away. With Zohran Mamdani having just won election as mayor after a long campaign of calling for higher taxes on corporations and the wealthy, some well-heeled New Yorkers may be thinking about their future as city residents.
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