He also said the company will launch a helicopter service between Bengaluru International Airport and HAL on weekdays from October 10 for Rs 3,250 per seat.
The company will then introduce more routes to Whitefield and Electronic City, he added.
“A wholly owned subsidiary in the Gift City of Gujarat has placed orders for a number of helicopters with Airbus. The helicopters will have a capacity of 5/6 people. The first helicopter is expected to be delivered in October/November,” said Amit.
He said the subsidiary will lease the helicopter to operators from whom Fly Blade will hire for its operations,” Dutta added.
The Fly Blade is a joint venture between US-based BLADE Urban Air Mobility Inc. and New Delhi-based venture capital firm Hunch Ventures, which began operations in 2019.
The company has partnered with Airbus and Eve Air Mobility to expand its short-haul air mobility services in India through fleet expansions.
The company started its first flights in Maharashtra between Mumbai, Pune and Shirdi. It later expanded its scheduled helicopter flights to Karnataka (to Coorg, Hampi and Kabini) and Goa; launched its bed-to-bed air medevac service and also chartered aircraft service.
Speaking about the proposed helicopter service between Bengaluru International Airport and HAL Airport, he said that around 40 million people visit the airport annually and the majority of them take taxis that charge around Rs 2,000. Converting a small percentage of taxi traffic to helicopter service will provide significant revenue potential.
“It takes about two hours to reach 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 service will be offered in
Dutta said the company was operating medical evacuation flights during the Covid-19 pandemic. After the lifting of the Covid-19 lock-down, demand from domestic tourists has increased.
The company’s flights have a load factor of about 75 percent.
According to him, the company plans to expand its network over the next 24 months, offering its services in 10 states and leasing about 50 vessels.
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