BHUBANESWAR : Fly Blade Inc, the largest arranger of helicopter flights for civilian travel in the United States, is set to commence operations in India in March 2019, with the maiden flight taking off between Mumbai and Pune.
The American firm will set up a local subsidiary, Blade India, in partnership with Hunch Ventures, a Delhi-based equity investment firm that has deployed over $100 million in consumer-facing business in India. The joint venture has not yet settled on prices for its India service, but promises to price the flights “significantly lower” than private chartered jets.
“The service will help customers avoid large commercial airports entirely as they transform unpredictable four-to-eight hours drive into short 35-minute flights,” said Blade CEO Rob Wiesenthal. “It’s not going to be as inexpensive as an Ola or Uber, but for people who value their time more than the cost, our service… does make sense,” he said. After Pune, the services will be extended to Shirdi.
Amar Abrol, who till May this year was heading AirAsia India, will be CEO of the India operations.