Blade Air Mobility and BETA Technologies complete historic Electric Vertical Aircraft flight in New York

Rhea-AI Summary

Blade Air Mobility (Nasdaq: BLDE) successfully completed its first demonstration flight of BETA Technologies' ALIA-250, a piloted electric vertical aircraft (eVTOL), in the greater New York City region. This flight, held on February 14, 2023, at Westchester County Airport, signifies a crucial advancement in the partnership between Blade and BETA aimed at introducing safe, quiet, and sustainable air transport. The ALIA-250 features an all-electric propulsion system, significantly reducing noise levels to one-tenth that of conventional helicopters. Blade plans to deploy these aircraft in its dedicated terminal network, enhancing its urban air mobility offerings.

Positive

• Successful demonstration flight of the ALIA-250 marks a significant milestone for Blade.
• The aircraft's noise profile is one-tenth that of traditional helicopters, making it suitable for urban areas.
• Blade's planned deployment of BETA's eVTOL enhances its air mobility service in key markets.

Negative

• None.

• Successful demonstration flight by Blade of BETA’s ALIA-250 marks the first demonstration of a piloted electric vertical aircraft (“EVA” or “eVTOL”) in the greater New York City region
• Demonstration is an important step in the partnership between the companies to enable the rapid introduction of EVA into Blade’s New York City and Short Distance businesses

NEW YORK, Feb. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blade Air Mobility, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLDE, "Blade"), a technology-powered air mobility platform and BETA Technologies (“BETA”), an electric aerospace company developing EVA (also known as eVTOL) and supporting charging infrastructure, today announced the successful completion of a historic test flight of BETA’s ALIA-250 EVA at the Westchester County Airport in White Plains, New York. The flight marks the first test of a piloted EVA in the greater New York City area and is a significant milestone in the companies' continued partnership to bring safe, quiet, and sustainable air transportation to commuter and commercial customers.

"This is a historic moment for Blade, New York and the urban air mobility industry," said Rob Wiesenthal, Chief Executive Officer of Blade. "This demonstration is a big milestone in our transition from helicopters to electric vertical aircraft, and we are pleased that our partners at BETA have designed the right aircraft with the requisite range, capacity, and noise profile, for use in our key markets, including our homebase of New York City. We are confident EVAs will be a game-changer both for our company and New York City’s transportation system once certified by the FAA."

"Blade is flying passengers in key urban markets all over the world, and this flight is another step toward delivering our electric aircraft to support those operations,” said Kyle Clark, BETA’s Founder and CEO. “We continue to progress our aircraft, flying real-life missions and gaining proficiency in the national airspace. We were glad to be able to fly here from our flight test facility in Plattsburgh to work with Blade to operationalize our partnership."

The ALIA-250 aircraft is powered by an all-electric propulsion system with vertical takeoff and landing capability and a noise profile that is 1/10^th the sound decibel level of conventional helicopters, making it ideal for use in urban areas. The aircraft can fly up to six people and features a sleek and modern design with a range of features to ensure the highest levels of safety and comfort.

During today’s flight, the ALIA-250 flew alongside a conventional helicopter before pulling away for a second pass above the airport to highlight the dramatic noise reduction.

In April 2021, Blade announced a agreement to facilitate the purchase of up to 20 of BETA’s first passenger-configured ALIA-250 aircraft by its network of operators. Blade intends to deploy these initial aircraft on routes between its network of dedicated terminals in the US. BETA has also agreed to provide and install charging infrastructure at certain key locations.

Over the past three years, BETA has demonstrated reliably strong performance with its two full-scale prototype aircraft, accomplishing significant milestones toward certification and commercialization. BETA also had test pilots from the U.S. Air Force and Army fly the ALIA-250 in full-pattern evaluations in March 2022 and July 2022, respectively, marking the branches’ first-ever flight of an electric vertical aircraft and the industry’s first manned qualitative evaluations. BETA has also partnered with the FAA and the National Institute for Aviation Research to conduct the first-ever 50-foot drop tests of its full-scale battery packs, successfully completing the test and advancing the industry’s path to safety standards and certification.

About Blade Air Mobility

Blade is a technology-powered, global 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., Europe, Canada and India. Today, the Company predominantly uses helicopters and amphibious aircraft for its passenger routes 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 emission-free.

For more information, visit www.blade.com.

About BETA Technologies

BETA Technologies is an electric aerospace company that is creating a new paradigm for transporting people and goods, making it safer, greener, quieter, and more efficient. To do this, we are building an electric transportation system that includes net-zero, all-electric aircraft and a cross-country, multimodal charging infrastructure to support various types of EVs. BETA has committed orders or contracts with leading operators across military, medical, cargo and passenger applications including UPS, Bristow, LCI, United Therapeutics, Blade and both the U.S. Air Force and U.S Army.

For more information, visit www.beta.team

Blade - Press Contacts

For Media Relations
Lee Gold
press@blade.com 

For Investor Relations
Ravi Jani
investors@blade.com 

BETA - Press Contacts

For Media Relations
Jake Goldman
jgoldman@beta.team

Lexi Pace 
lpace@beta.team 

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bdeba6ea-41b0-4153-aff1-4a2dc832f01a

FAQ

What is the significance of the demonstration flight by Blade Air Mobility on February 14, 2023?

The flight marked the first test of a piloted electric vertical aircraft (eVTOL) in the greater New York City area, indicating a major milestone in Blade's transition to electric aviation.

What are the features of the ALIA-250 aircraft?

The ALIA-250 is an all-electric aircraft capable of vertical takeoff and landing, designed to carry up to six passengers with a noise level significantly lower than conventional helicopters.

How will Blade Air Mobility utilize the ALIA-250 aircraft?

Blade plans to deploy the ALIA-250 aircraft on routes between its dedicated terminals in the U.S., improving urban air mobility offerings.

What partnership exists between Blade and BETA Technologies?

Blade and BETA have partnered to facilitate the introduction of electric vertical aircraft into Blade's operations, with BETA providing charging infrastructure.