Fly Blade India P. Ltd., a provider of urban air mobility, will most likely purchase an H125 helicopter from Airbus in October or November, according to senior company officials. Additionally stated that starting on October 10 on weekdays at a cost of Rs 3,250 per seat, the company will begin operating a helicopter service between Bengaluru International Airport and HAL.
The company will subsequently introduce more routes to Whitefield and Electronic City, he added.
"A wholly owned subsidiary in Gujarat's Gift City has placed orders for a couple of helicopters with Airbus. The helicopters will have a seating capacity of 5/6 persons. The first helicopter is expected to be delivered this October/November," Amit Dutta, Managing Director told IANS.
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He said the subsidiary company will lease the helicopter to operators from whom Fly Blade will hire for its operations," Dutta added.
The H125 (previously named the AS350 B3e) outclasses all other single-engine helicopters for performance, versatility, low maintenance, and low acquisition costs, while excelling in high and hot and extreme environments. It is a member of Airbus’ Ecureuil family, which has accumulated almost 36 million flight hours worldwide.
It has established itself as a true multi-mission workhorse thanks to its inherent manoeuvrability, excellent visibility, and low cabin vibration levels. It is now a common sight at heliports, hospital landing pads, police department operations centres, and airports all over the world.
The Fly Blade is a partnership between Hunch Ventures, a venture capital firm with offices in New Delhi and the US, and BLADE Urban Air Mobility Inc.
To increase its short-haul air mobility services in India through fleet expansions, the company has joined forces with Airbus and Eve Air Mobility.
The airline launched its first flights between Mumbai, Pune, and Shirdi in Maharashtra. Later, it began offering bed-to-bed air medevac service as well as scheduled by-the-seat helicopter flights to Goa and Karnataka (to Coorg, Hampi, and Kabini).
Speaking about the proposed helicopter service between Bengaluru International Airport and HAL Airport, he said annually about 40 million people visit the airport and majority of them by taxis that charge about Rs 2,000. Converting a small percentage of the taxi traffic to helicopter service will be a sizable revenue potential.
"It takes about two hours to reach the Bengaluru International Airport. On the other hand for Rs 3,250 one can reach the airport in 12 minutes by our helicopter," Dutta said.
According to him, similar services will be offered in Goa.
According to Dutta, the company ran medical evacuation flights during the Covid-19 pandemic. After the Covid-19 lockdown was removed, demand from domestic tourists increased.
The occupancy rate on the company's flights is around 75%.
He claims that over the next 24 months, the business intends to lease about 50 crafts while growing its network and providing its services in 10 states.
(with inputs from IANS)
