FlyBlade India (“BLADE India”), a joint venture between Hunch Ventures and Blade Air Mobility, Inc. , and Eve Air Mobility announced today a strategic partnership which includes a non-binding order of up to 200 electric vertical take-off and landing (“eVTOL” or Electric Vertical Aircraft, “EVA”) vehicles, service and support, and Eve’s Urban Air Traffic Management (“UATM”) software solution. The companies also plan to collaborate on a three-month pilot project connecting passengers using helicopters.
India is a unique market with its vast expanse, accessibility concerns, traffic congestion and regulations. As the pioneers of providing short-haul air mobility services in India, BLADE India will act as Eve’s on-ground knowledge partner to create the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) ecosystem. The data collected through BLADE India’s customer experience and operations will be used to further develop Eve’s eVTOL, service and support solutions, and its UATM software. BLADE India will initially underwrite 50,000 hours of flight time per year using Eve’s eVTOL in the country.
“India’s traffic congestion woes are only expected to get worse. This partnership allows us to leverage Eve’s deep expertise in not just EVA design but also in the infrastructure required to support UAM,” said Amit Dutta, managing director, BLADE India.
“We are thrilled about partnering with BLADE India and pioneering the urban air mobility market in the country, which has the potential to be one of the largest markets globally. This initial order will allow us to enter into service in India and further develop the ecosystem according to the community’s needs. We look forward to offering the people of India a zero-emission UAM solution in the future that will be quiet, efficient, and accessible,” said André Stein, co-CEO of Eve.
The emergence of electric aviation with eVTOL vehicles is expected to significantly reduce the carbon footprint, noise and cost of flying, making it more accessible to the masses.
About Blade
Blade is a technology-powered urban air mobility platform committed to reducing travel friction by providing cost-effective air transportation alternatives to some of the most congested ground routes in the U.S. and abroad. Today, the company predominantly uses helicopters and amphibious aircraft and is also one of the largest air medical transporters of human organs for transplant in the world. Its asset-light model, coupled with its exclusive passenger terminal infrastructure, is designed to facilitate a seamless transition to Electric Vertical Aircraft (“EVA” or “eVTOL”), enabling lower cost air mobility to the public that is both quiet and zero emissions. For more information, visit https://www.blade.com/p/about.
About BLADE India
BLADE India began in 2019 and offers cost-effective air transportation alternatives to some of the most congested ground routes in India with flights from Mumbai, Shirdi, Pune, and Bangalore. Hunch ventures is a privately held investment firm based out of New Delhi, India and has invested in a range of sectors including education, healthcare, immersive media, hospitality, food & beverage, logistics and others that may hold distinctive synergies with each other. For more information, visit https://flyblade.in/p/about.
About Eve
Eve is dedicated to accelerating the Urban Air Mobility ecosystem. Benefitting from a start-up mindset, backed by Embraer S.A.’s more than 50-year history of aerospace expertise, and with a singular focus, Eve is taking a holistic approach to progressing the UAM ecosystem, with an advanced eVTOL project, comprehensive global services and support network and a unique air traffic management solution. Since May 10, 2022, Eve is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, where its shares of common stock and public warrants trade under the tickers “EVEX” and “EVEXW”. For more information, please visit www.eveairmobility.com.