BLADE India, a pioneer in urban air mobility, today announced the launch of its services in Karnataka. After a hugely successful launch of its by-the-seat services in Maharashtra (Mumbai-Pune-Shirdi) and its personalised charter service, BLADE Anywhere, the company is all set to expand its unique and differentiated urban air mobility offerings in the Karnataka region. With air travel reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic and travellers increasingly sceptical of crowded spaces, BLADE’s personalised charter services address the need of the hour by providing a more exclusive, hassle-free and convenient travelling option for consumers.
BLADE will currently offer charter services anywhere within Karnataka to both leisure and religious destinations such as Coorg, Kabini, Chikmagalur and Hampi, and will gradually move towards ‘by-the-seat’ offerings as well.
A joint venture between USA’s BLADE Urban Air Mobility, Inc. and Hunch Ventures, BLADE India’s precision-engineered crafts and refined services are a natural extension of its international pedigree of success, style, and safety. BLADE’s expansion into the South India market is well-timed with consumers emerging out of a lull in travel and at the same time grappling with concerns over safety and hygiene issues related to flying.
On entering the Karnataka market Karanpal Singh, Founder, Hunch Ventures and BLADE India says, “BLADE is an urban air mobility company designed to connect locations more efficiently. BLADE Anywhere is our personalised charter service that will allow customers to fly safely and conveniently. Going forward, we are working with the relevant stakeholders to bring in our by-the-seat services to various locations in and around Karnataka.”
BLADE operates from a network of vertiports (helipads and lounges) out of several city centres in India. Initially, it started charter services from various pickup locations within Bengaluru to places such as the Evolve Back, Coorg and The Serai.
“It is wonderful to hear about “BLADE Anywhere” in Karnataka and we at Evolve Back eagerly look forward to the launch. There is a definite need from our high-end clientele for these short-haul helicopter services and will definitely be a big boost for tourism (both Domestic and Foreign) to our destinations at Coorg, Kabini & Hampi,” says Thomas Emmanuel Ramapuram, Joint Director – Sales at Evolve Back.
The company flies from strategically located vertiports from multiple locations connecting them as part of the solution. It currently offers charter flight options and will soon begin by-the-seat option as well to various destinations in Karnataka as well as Intra-City flights in Bengaluru to reduce daily friction from traffic and in turn improve quality of life. BLADE has implemented industry-leading health and safety protocols designed by BLADE USA, keeping in mind safety and sensitisation as its priority. Contactless temperature checks, staff to wear masks and gloves during travel and the fleet being electrostatically decontaminated using an airline-grade fogging system before take-off and after landing are few measures taken.
Flight schedules, rosters and various other BLADE services are accessible on the BLADE India website upon signing up and their mobile application BLADE; available for iOS and Android.