Blade India is expanding its service there with five new leased Airbus Helicopters H125 singles provided to its operators there. Blade India launched in 2019 and is the joint venture of Blade UAM Inc. US and Hunch Ventures Group India.
“It is extremely gratifying that we are able to deliver on the promise we made earlier this year with the signature of an MoU with Blade India. Helicopter operations in urban environments are an essential building block for the development of new services such as emergency medical services, tourism, and air taxis for efficient mobility. In addition, they provide the foundational elements such as heliports and operational routes, paving the way for future urban air mobility operations,” said Sunny Guglani, the head of Airbus Helicopters for India and South Asia.
Blade India currently provides service from Mumbai to Pune and Shirdi, as well as charter destinations. It is negotiating with state governments and tourism boards to introduce short-haul services to more locations in India. In May, Blade India launched Blade Care for medical evacuations and essential travel. Urban population in India’s urban population has grown from 217 million in 1991 to 517 million in 2020 and is forecasted to be 700 million by 2050. Recognizing this, in 2016 India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation launched a Regional Connectivity Scheme to make regional airline and helicopter service more accessible.