- Helicopter shuttle company Blade Air Mobility, Inc (NASDAQ:BLDE) bagged deals worth €48 million with Monaco’s royal family members, Ferrari N.V. (NYSE:RACE) shareholder John Elkann and others to begin flying passengers between the French Riviera, Monte Carlo and the ski slopes of Courchevel, the Financial Times reports.
- The U.S. group, which counts Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood among its most prominent investors, has agreed to buy the routes and heliports of Monacair, Héli Sécurité, and a third unnamed European operator.
- “The whole business model behind Blade is to accumulate the best routes, infrastructure, and customers in the world who are currently traveling by helicopter . . . and then providing those businesses with a seamless transition for electric vertical aircraft,” CEO Rob Wiesenthal said.
- The investment is also a bet on a revival in high-end business and leisure travel and Western sanctions on Russia.
- Monacair runs 50 scheduled flights a day between Nice Airport and Monaco, while Héli Sécurité’s 16 serves St Tropez and the Swiss Alps. One industry member in Europe identified the third company as Cannes-based Azur Hélicoptère, whose investors include Oaktree Capital Management.
- The three companies will retain their fleets. Blade will be their sole customer, extending an asset-light strategy.
- The U.S. group has sought to put its brand on the most popular routes served by helicopters before the expected arrival of a new generation of electric vertical aircraft, known as eVOTLs or EVAs.
- Blade has contracted with four EVA developers for deliveries starting in 2024.
- The group has expanded from New York, serving the city’s airports and resorts like the Hamptons, to bases in Vancouver, Canada, and India.
- Price Action: BLDE shares closed higher by 0.14% at $7.03 on Wednesday.
- Photo via Company
