To beat the traffic of Bangalore, you can now book a 12-minute helicopter ride

• BLADE India is launching two helicopter flights between Bangalore International Airport and HAL.
  
• HAL is very close to popular locations in the city such as Indiranagar and Koramangala, as well as IT parks.
  
• Flights can be booked like any other air ticket at an initial cost of ₹3,250, excluding taxes.
  
• A cab ride from Bangalore international airport to HAL airport costs over ₹1,300 and takes over two hours.
  

One knows the state of traffic is bad when helicopters are provided as a resolution for beating the traffic to and from Bangalore International Airport. India’s IT hotspot Bengaluru is already one of the most traffic congested cities in the world. So much so that Twitterati jokes that drivers are selling their third and fourth gears because they lie primarily unused in the city.

An urban air mobility company called BLADE India today announced that it is launching two helicopter flights between Bangalore International Airport and HAL airport, every weekday at 9 am and returning at 4:15 pm. Flights can be booked like any other air ticket at an initial cost of ₹3,250, excluding taxes.

“Our success lies in being able to democratize urban air mobility. While helicopter services are a premium product, with today’s launch we can offer an accessible entry point,” said Amit Dutta, managing director, BLADE India.

The launch of this intra-city service will allow fliers to skip the painful road commute to the city and opt for a quick 12-minute flight instead. A cab ride from Bangalore international airport to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) airport costs over ₹1,300 and takes over two hours.

HAL is very close to popular locations in the city such as Indiranagar, Koramangala, and other IT parks.

The route between Bengaluru airport and HAL will be operational from October 10 and is now open for bookings on the BLADE India website or through the Flier Relations team.

BLADE plans to introduce more routes to Whitefield and Electronic City.

“Today’s launch is a significant milestone for us. It not only addresses the concerns mounting over congestion in Bengaluru city but paves the way for our future taxi service of eVTOL aircraft,” Dutta said.

BLADE works with partners like AIRBUS and Eve Air Mobility to deliver affordable air transportation.

These partnerships will also eventually help swap conventional helicopters with Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (“eVTOL”) aircraft that use electric power, claims BLADE India.

The company launched its maiden flights in Maharashtra between Mumbai, Pune and Shirdi in November 2019. It expanded its scheduled by-the-seat helicopter flights to Coorg, Hampi, and Kabini in Karnataka; and Goa.

SEE ALSO: Tata Tiago EV launched – Here’s everything you need to know about Tata’s cheapest electric car
Here’s all you need to know about applying for the UK and the US visa
Hybrid cloud adoption is on the rise among Indian businesses but security, compliance and skills gap are impeding progress says IBM