For those pressed for time, travel between Mumbai and Pune is soon going to be a breeze. Starting next month, a helicopter service between these two cities will make the travel experience completely hassle-free.
A joint venture between the US-based aviation startup Blade Urban Air Mobility and Hunch Ventures, Blade India will start this service between Mumbai, Pune and even Shirdi from October. All the necessary permissions from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have already been taken to begin the service.
The company has helipads at convenient locations in each city, Mahalaxmi Race Course in Mumbai, Mundhwa in Pune and Chaitanyapuri in Shirdi. With a total of three choppers to start with comprising Airbus HC130 and Bell 407, the fares are expected to be quite dynamic. The network of flights for these routes will be announced shortly.
For organisations that have clients visiting from abroad, the absence of flights between Mumbai and Pune is a big issue. With a lot of business-class travellers avoiding travel between these cities due to lack of connectivity, this service will prove to be a boon and will boost travel.
Focusing on the overall experience, they want to promote this with city-based travel agents. Initially beginning with metropolitan cities and congested tourist or religious destinations, they aim to eventually offer it to other intra-city routes. They will also be providing pickup and drop services from the helipad to the passengers’ desired locations within the city combined with baggage pickup and drop.
Bookings will soon be available from the company’s website and other affiliations and customer support platforms.
With high-end travellers, ready to shell out extra money to travel at their convenience, the government is keen on developing more heliports under the regional connectivity scheme.
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