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Helicopter charter company Blade is launching a new luxury bus service between New York City and the Hamptons to bridge the gap between cheap bus travel and expensive helicopter flights.
Part of the appeal of helicopter service is that the trip takes about 40 minutes and costs about $1,050.
But while the company’s luxury buses still have to follow traffic rules, it aims to offer a more premium experience to distract guests from longer journey times.
It will be more like an in-flight service than a traditional bus. Passengers can press the call button and a staff member will bring them complimentary snacks such as an espresso martini or sweet green salad, as well as hot towels and cashmere blankets. new york times report.
“This level of service is comparable to what you would find on a commercial airline,” Roisin Branch, Blade’s chief marketing officer, told the magazine.
However, it comes at a cost. The cheapest one-way seats start at $195 for two rows of seats and go up to $275 for one row of seats. bloomberg report.
The 19-seater bus is the result of a partnership between Blade and luxury bus company The Jet. Jett also operates service between New York City and Washington, D.C., and promises the same high level of service as his latest collaboration, including comfortable seats, plenty of legroom, and high-quality WiFi.
Blade aims to capture the market of people who don’t want to charter a helicopter but are willing to pay more than mainstream bus fares. The popular Hampton Jitney bus costs about $40 if reserved in advance.
The new luxury bus service promises to reduce the number of stops and only pick up New Yorkers heading to the Hamptons at Hudson Yards, one of the city’s most exclusive neighborhoods.
Blade CEO Rob Wiesenthal previously told BI that new airport regulations have limited the company to one flight per day, so Blade has cut back on helicopter trips to the East Hamptons. had to raise prices in 2022. The regulations were enacted in response to thousands of complaints from local residents about noise pollution caused by helicopters.
The company has staved off competition in the space, with early investors including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav, and IAC Chairman Barry Diller.reported $225 million Revenues in 2023. More than 50% of that money comes from medical operations that airlift human organs for transplants.