“This partnership is a perfect fit with Blade’s mission to eliminate travel friction around the world,” said Melissa Tomkiel, President of Blade. Blade’s investment in existing and future vertiport infrastructure provides Blade access to heliport passenger terminals controlled by PHS to ensure sustainable, state-of-the-art facility infrastructure is put in place for future route expansion. While Blade is not acquiring any shares or ownership in Helijet, it will have the right to acquire up to 49 per cent of Helijet‘s wholly-owned subsidiary, Pacific Heliport Services (“PHS”), which manages and operates heliport waterfront terminals in Vancouver, Victoria and Nanaimo. Together, we are looking forward to a future that is literally just around the corner.” In Blade, we have found a unique partner that shares our commitment to customer service and experience, safety and innovation. EVA will make urban air mobility more efficient, more sustainable, and more affordable. “EVA technologies are going to change aviation in the same way that the jet engine revolutionized air travel 60 years ago. “We look forward to working with Wisk to help accelerate Blade’s transition from conventional rotorcraft to safe, quiet, emission-free Electric Vertical Aircraft,” Rob Wiesenthal, CEO of Blade, said in a statement.“Helijet and Blade are partnering to ensure our combined leadership in the early adoption of EVA on existing routes in British Columbia, as well as the new services Blade may launch in the future,” explained Danny Sitnam, President of Helijet. The company could not provide further details on how the group would function. The working group which Wisk and Blade will form will assist in the development of technologies necessary for UAM such as charging and air traffic management. #Blade urban air mobility trialAt the end of March, Wisk partnered with Insitu Pacific Pty Ltd., an unmanned aerial systems (UAS) developer and Boeing subsidiary as part of the New Zealand government’s Airspace Integration Trial Program (AITP) to test and demonstrate the integration of unmanned aircraft into airspace. A representative from Wisk said flight hour rates and minimums would be decided closer to launch.īlade's new arrangement with Wisk comes as the Cora moves forward with a new demonstration flight trial that will help advance autonomous flight in New Zealand. Wisk will be paid an hourly rate for Blade’s use of its aircraft and Blade will leverage existing flight volutes to provide minimum flight hour guarantees, according to the release. “Backed by Boeing’s deep aerospace experience, Wisk will own, operate and maintain their aircraft as part of our network, allowing Blade to focus on delivering a great experience to our fliers.” “The Wisk-Blade arrangement is a perfect fit for our asset light model,” Will Heyburn, CFO and Head of Corporate Development for Blade, said in a statement. The timing of when these flights will begin is dependent on the certification of Wisk’s sixth-generation aircraft from the Federal Aviation Administration. The companies have not yet disclosed the exact terminal locations yet. The UAM company has also selected operators that twill receive the first passenger configured BETA aircraft in 2024.Ĭora will be deployed on Blade’s short-distance routes between its network of terminals in the U.S. As an example, a section of its website is dedicated to educating site visitors about the future of UAM, and the company also recently secured operators and committed to installing charging infrastructure at their terminals for the delivery of eVTOL aircraft provided by BETA Technologies in April. (Wisk)īlade, an air charter broker and indirect carrier with access to crowdsourced and individual seats on private flights throughout the U.S., has been promoting its long-term goal of transitioning to electric-powered aircraft over the last year. Cora has completed more than 1,300 test flights without incident.
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