Blade Air Mobility Inc. has acquired Helijet's scheduled passenger business, which was flying approximately 100,000 passengers in the year 2019.
"The addition of Helijet's scheduled passenger business will make Blade the largest Urban Air Mobility service in North America," Rob Wiesenthal, chief executive officer of Blade, said in a press release. "Helijet, which has safely flown more than 2.5 million passengers over three decades of flying in Canada, will continue to own and operate all Blade-designated aircraft in Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest."
Helijet's pre-pandemic revenues reached nearly $15 million in U.S. dollars. Blade expects that Helijet will be a boost to its aircraft operations in Vancouver, Victoria and Nanaimo, British Columbia.
"Blade and Helijet are partnering to ensure our combined leadership in the early adoption of EVA on existing routes in British Columbia, as well as on the new services Blade may launch in the future," Danny Sitnam, president of Helijet, said in a press release. "EVA technologies are going to change aviation in the same way that the jet engine revolutionized air travel 60 years ago. EVA will make Urban Air Mobility more efficient, more sustainable and more affordable. In Blade, we have found a unique partner that shares our commitment to customer service and experience, safety and innovation."
The acquisition correlates with Blade's asset-light model.
The companies will continue to use Helijet owned and operated aircraft. "This acquisition is a perfect fit with Blade's mission to eliminate travel friction around the world," Melissa Tomkiel, president of Blade, said. "In 2019, over 2 million people traveled between key Helijet destinations using ground and ferry transportation, which can take more than three hours longer than Helijet flights. Our transition to lower-cost, quiet and emission-free EVA should only serve to increase the number of passengers that travel between these locations by air and the value proposition to our fliers."