Commuting choppers have a shot this week in New York to prove that they can actually work for everyday commuters.
A railroad strike in the city’s suburbs has left Long Island without rail service, and the 8 million people who live there without easy access to New York City.
Enter Blade Urban Air Mobility, which is offering $95 fares during the strike — half off its normal price — to entice people onto its helicopters and towards creating a wider clientele for its move into futuristic flying taxis.
Will people who are used to forking up to $33 for a one-way ticket to the city pay nearly $100 for a helicopter now? And will they, in the near future, pay a similar price to ride a newfangled aircraft with six electric rotors and batteries for power?
Blade CEO Rob Wiesenthal thinks so. One selling point: The trip will take five minutes, not over an hour like it takes in rush hour traffic.
“The narrow arteries around JFK represent 70% to 80% of the overall travel time for the average person by car,” he said. “What we’ve done is leverage that airport, arranged for free parking, and let people see what commuting by vertical transportation is like.”
The Long Island Rail Road strike began early Saturday morning over demands for better pay and working conditions.
It’s unclear when the strike will end, but Blade is already seeing strong demand. Wiesenthal told Business Insider that a mix of people who typically drive or take the train are booking the short hops, and the company is working to add more seats after quickly selling out.
Even so, Blade can absorb only a tiny fraction of the disruption. The company flew more than 50,000 passengers in all of 2024 on helicopters, while the Long Island Rail Road carries roughly 250,000 riders on a typical weekday.
The situation has inadvertently drawn more attention to urban air mobility in general — think Jetsons-like multi-rotor aircraft buzzing above traffic — and how it may change the typical commute.
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Blade is a helicopter charter and service company set to branch out into this new class of electric vertical aircraft that take off like helicopters and fly like turboprops.
“There is a huge cohort of people who drive, because they work on the phone and have their own car, and it ends up being close to $150 a day with parking and gas,” Wiesenthal said.
Once the strike ends, Blade flights will return to their usual prices, though Wiesenthal said commuters who want to keep flying can buy a $195 annual commuter pass that unlocks fares starting at $95 each way.
The time savings may be worth it to executives whose organizations provide car service, though more people flying will mean more loud helicopters flying over Manhattan — something locals have long complained about.
There are also only three heliports in Manhattan that Blade can fly to — West 30th, East 34th, and Wall Street — meaning many passengers may have an additional commute after landing.
Plus, nearly $200 roundtrip at the lowest end is pricey for the average New Yorker, and many riders are expected to return to the more affordable rails or roads once the LIRR reopens.
However, Wiesenthal said electrifying aviation could make aerial commuting more accessible. These aircraft could radically reduce noise levels and the cost of commuter flights by eliminating the need for jet fuel — and possibly even the need for a pilot.
Blade’s passenger business is owned by Joby Aviation, a company developing an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or eVTOL.
These futuristic aircraft are billed as quieter, zero-emission alternatives to helicopters capable of hopping from airports to city centers in about 10 minutes. Joby expects its eVTOL to enter commercial service later this year.
Taylor Rains/Business Insider
Wiesenthal previously told Business Insider that a Joby eVTOL ride — which seats up to four passengers — would cost roughly the same per seat as an Uber Black. An Uber Black from JFK to Grand Central cost about $100 on Monday afternoon.
But eVTOLs are still in development, and manufacturers must clear certification hurdles before they can fly paying passengers, including proving the safety of electric motors, rechargeable batteries, and the tilting rotors used for vertical-to-forward flight — all while convincing the public to embrace flying taxis at prices competitive with ground transportation.
Joby is the US frontrunner, valued at around $10 billion; other key eVTOL players include Archer Aviation and Beta Technologies. Joby recently performed passengerless demo flights from JFK to Manhattan to demonstrate how the aircraft flies and sounds.
Wiesenthal said that eVTOL adoption is inevitable, and that flying taxis will “at some point” land on Manhattan rooftops rather than be limited to a handful of waterfront heliports.
“If a city wants to be a ‘city 2.0’ and be competitive globally, it needs a UAM strategy,” Wiesenthal said. “Remember in the 1970s when you could land [helicopters] in Midtown on the top of the old Pan Am building? That will be coming back.”
