Helicopters have been whisking the wealthy from Manhattan to New York’s airports for decades. Now the ride costs as little as $195, and you can book it via a smartphone.
Back in 2014, when Rob Wiesenthal founded Blade Urban Air Mobility Inc., a chopper ride to John F. Kennedy Airport—13 miles from Manhattan—started at $3,000, he says. Wiesenthal has been able to chop that price after finding efficiencies in fueling, equipment, and scheduling.
This, from Hailey Waller, “Blade Offers New York Airport Transfers for $195, Aiming at Uber Black,” Bloomberg, May 9, 2019, is incredible news.
I’m a bit of a penny pincher but I’m also an economist who understands the value of time. On top of that, based on the one time I flew in a helicopter over New York City, from Laguardia to JFK in September 1977, I love flying over big cities in helicopters.
On top of that, my marginal tax rate 0n earned income (I hate that term) is 46.6% (22% federal income tax + 15.3% FICA and HI + 9.3% state income tax). If I were in Manhattan wanting to get to an airport quickly, the odds are that I would be doing it while on a business trip and so the $195 would be fully deductible, bringing the net cost to me down to $104. That could be well worth it in many circumstances. The transportation time could be cut from over 1 hour to 10 minutes. (Of course, I would have to get to the helipad and so whether it’s worthwhile would depend on how far I am from the helipad when I’m willing to leave Manhattan.)
This is fantastic news. I love free markets.
READER COMMENTS
MG
May 13 2019 at 3:46pm
This is a great example of what your colleague (Garreth Bloor) highlights in the recent post of The Rise in Consumption Equality. Access to goods and services has never been more broadly available. And as direct ownership of assets becomes a target of wealth taxers, sharing arrangements may gain additional impetus.
Benjamin Cole
May 13 2019 at 7:56pm
Back in the 1970s, as a graduate student watching his pennies, I took a helicopter shuttle between the San Francisco and Oakland Airports. As I recall, the price was $38.
Phil H
May 15 2019 at 10:53pm
It is fantastic news. Thank goodness for the strong network of regulations that gives passengers the assurance of safety, while taking advantage of this excellent deal.
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