Benzinga | Dec 2, 2021 08:33AM EST

Blade Air Mobility Reports Purchase Of Exclusive Rights To Helijet's Scheduled Passenger Business In Canada For $12M

* Acquisition brings Helijet's scheduled air mobility business, which generated approximately US$15 million in revenues flying approximately 100,000 passengers in 2019, to Blade.

* Consistent with its asset-light model, Blade will exclusively utilize helicopters owned and operated by Helijet for scheduled service in Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest, while preparing for the integration and transition to Electric Vertical Aircraft ("EVA").

* Routes are between Vancouver, Victoria and Nanaimo, where Blade will invest in Helijet's heliport terminal infrastructure; flights range from 20 to 40 minutes.

NEW YORK & VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Blade Air Mobility, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLDE, &ldquo, Blade&rdquo, or the &ldquo, Company&rdquo, ))), a technology-powered global air mobility platform, today announced that it has entered into an agreement (the "Agreement") through its wholly owned subsidiaries Blade Urban Air Mobility, Inc. and Blade Urban Air Mobility (Canada), Inc., with Helijet International, Inc. ("Helijet"), North America's largest scheduled helicopter airline, and Pacific Heliport Services, Ltd. ("PHS"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Helijet, which operates and manages heliport infrastructure in Vancouver, Victoria and Nanaimo, British Columbia.

Blade has acquired exclusive rights to offer scheduled helicopter flights operated by Helijet and to utilize passenger terminals at heliports controlled by PHS. This acquisition is consistent with Blade's asset-light model, where the Company organically creates, or in this case purchases, valuable routes on which by-the-seat helicopter services have a strong value proposition compared to cars and other forms of transport, and contracts with incumbent aircraft operators to fly on its behalf.

Helijet is currently operating at an annualized run-rate of about 50% of its pre-pandemic revenues of approximately US$15 million. However, traffic is recovering quickly as Canada continues its pandemic re-opening.

"The addition of Helijet's scheduled passenger business will make Blade the largest Urban Air Mobility service in North America," said Rob Wiesenthal, Chief Executive Officer of Blade. "Helijet, which has safely flown more than 2.5 million passengers over three decades of flying in Canada, will continue to own and operate all Blade-designated aircraft in Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest."

"Blade and Helijet are partnering to ensure our combined leadership in the early adoption of EVA on existing routes in British Columbia, as well as on the new services Blade may launch in the future," said Danny Sitnam, President of Helijet. "EVA technologies are going to change aviation in the same way that the jet engine revolutionized air travel 60 years ago. EVA will make Urban Air Mobility more efficient, more sustainable and more affordable. In Blade, we have found a unique partner that shares our commitment to customer service and experience, safety and innovation."

"This acquisition is a perfect fit with Blade's mission to eliminate travel friction around the world," added Melissa Tomkiel, President of Blade. "In 2019, over 2 million people traveled between key Helijet destinations using ground and ferry transportation, which can take more than three hours longer than Helijet flights. Our transition to lower-cost, quiet and emission-free EVA should only serve to increase the number of passengers that travel between these locations by air and the value proposition to our fliers."

"The transaction gives Blade access to passenger terminals at conveniently located heliports in Vancouver, Victoria and Nanaimo. This infrastructure is essential to offer Urban Air Mobility solutions at scale," noted Will Heyburn, Chief Financial Officer of Blade. "Blade intends to make investments in electric charging infrastructure at each location in order to support the future introduction of EVA, while continuing to grow our offering of affordable flights using conventional helicopters today."

Transaction Highlights:

* Blade to pay Helijet a purchase price of US$12 million to secure exclusive rights to Helijet's scheduled passenger business and utilize heliport terminals at PHS managed and operated heliports.

* Helijet to exclusively operate Blade flights on existing and jointly developed routes in Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest, including cross-border flight services.

* Blade and Helijet will expand Canadian and U.S. Pacific Northwest infrastructure appropriate for current generation rotorcraft and forthcoming EVA.

* The Agreement has an initial term through 2026 and will be automatically renewed for successive two-year periods.