NYC Commuters Can Dodge Traffic With $95 Helicopter Rides
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Well-heeled workers that live in the New York City suburbs will soon have a lofty path to avoiding gridlock en route to their Manhattan offices.
Blade Urban Air Mobility, which provides helicopter flights between Manhattan and two nearby airports, is opening up its routes to commuters on Long Island and in New Jersey who are willing to spend more to cut their travel time to and from work.
The air-transport operator will offer a commuter pass for $195 a year, which allows clients unlimited flights to and from the city for $95 per flight. Blade has been flying passengers to New York City’s John F. Kennedy Airport and New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport for more than a decade.
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With the pass, riders can park at either of those airports and then fly to Blade’s heliport at 30th Street and 12th Avenue in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards neighborhood.
BLADE is entering our next milestone of Urban Air Mobility by expanding beyond city-to-airport flights to serve suburban residents who commute daily to the city. By utilizing excess capacity on our daily airport routes between Manhattan and JFK/Newark, BLADE can turn two-hour… — BLADE (@flybladenow) January 16, 2025
The service would give residents of wealthy enclaves in Nassau County and northern New Jersey the ability to get from an airport to Manhattan’s west side in about five minutes rather than driving into the city or taking public transportation.
“As ground traffic grows, and the transition to quiet, emission-free aircraft helicopters begins, we need to introduce park-and-fly options for commuters so they can start to experience the benefits of urban air mobility,” said Rob Wiesenthal, Blade’s CEO.
Blade anticipates transitioning to an all-electric, emissions-free aircraft fleet and providing commuter routes will help in that goal. It’s possible that more landing zones can develop throughout Manhattan and Long Island with quiet, electric aircraft, which would provide more flights for more commuters.
While the cost is steep compared to public transportation, Blade’s five-minute ride is a breezy alternative to the roughly hour-and-a-half morning drive from areas just east of JFK airport. A Long Island Rail Road train ride from Lynbrook to Manhattan takes about 35 minutes, with an unlimited monthly pass costing $253.
And a new congestion pricing toll has made driving into Manhattan’s business district more expensive, and motorists heading into the city face other fees. The toll on the Queens-Midtown Tunnel for an E-ZPass driver is $13.88 per round trip, and garage parking in Midtown Manhattan can cost $70 for up to 24 hours before taxes.
Blade’s commuter program runs Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Passengers are allowed to bring one small bag on board.
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