BLADE Flight Review: Luxury Commute at a Premium Price
In August 2024, I found myself in Manhattan with a very narrow window between the end of the work day and my flight out of JFK. This presented the perfect opportunity to try out BLADE, a helicopter service that can fly you from Manhattan to JFK in just 5 minutes (compared to an Uber that can take over an hour in rush hour traffic). This convenience comes at a pretty penny, but was a bucket list item for me.
I’d actually tried to fly BLADE four months earlier, but my flight was cancelled just before boarding, so this was my redemption.
[RELATED: My BLADE Helicopter Flight was Cancelled Last Minute!]
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.
Booking my BLADE Flight
Booking my BLADE flight from the BLADE Lounge at East 34th St to JFK through the blade.com website was very easy. Their website and user interface work well and I faced no technical issues.
BLADE advertises flights starting at $145, but flights from Manhattan to JFK start at $195 and go up from there. At rush hour, expect to pay $265-270 just for the seat.
On top of the seat, you’ll pay more for flexibility, preferred seating, and most importantly, baggage. The standard BLADE seat only includes 25 lbs of luggage between a tiny personal item (5” x 5” x 5”) and a small carry on (21.7” x 13.7” x 9”). I typically travel with a backpack and the Away Bigger Carry On and the carry on alone is typically well over 25 lbs. Thus, I needed the excess luggage fee, which ranges from $145 for luggage delivery to $175 as part of the “Max” fare class.
Regardless of fare class, all flights come with a free BLADE backup car to the airport in the case that your helicopter flight is cancelled. Once you arrive at the airport, a car takes you to your terminal. By default, you may be in a shared car, but you can pay $100 more for a private car.
GET A DISCOUNT ON YOUR FIRST BLADE FLIGHT
Use discount code JacquelineS902 for $50 off your first Blade flight (*US flights only, excludes Hamptons flights). For full transparency, if you use my code, I’ll also receive a $25 BLADE credit 🙂
Other optional add-ons include a $50 discount if you book a round trip ticket, pet fees ($50) if you want your dog or cat under 25 lbs to fly with you, and a very overpriced car service to the heliport from anywhere in Manhattan ($100).
In total, I paid $880 for 2 seats on the one-way flight with excess baggage and flexibility. This was the price after my $50 discount for it being my first flight. That’s a lot for a 5-minute flight when Uber and public transit are both valid options! But our tight timing and the desire to try BLADE out at least once made it a worthwhile splurge.
Keep an Eye Out for Deals
BLADE routinely offers deals, so be sure to see if any are running when you’re looking to book. Bilt Platinum status members can also get a free each year and 10% off other BLADE flights booked through Bilt.
How I Earned 5 Points/Dollar on the Flight
Based on all the research I could gather online, BLADE flights do not code as “airfare”, so they don’t yield 5 points per dollar using The Platinum Card® from American Express.
BLADE flights do code as “travel,” so I used my Chase Sapphire Reserve card to earn 3 points per dollar.
So where did the other 2 points per dollar come from? I’m so glad you asked. I have my Chase Sapphire Reserve card linked to my Bilt account. Bilt and BLADE are partners, so my booking earned me an additional 2 Bilt points per dollar even though it was booked directly through BLADE. You don’t need a Bilt credit card to do this. In fact, I don’t have one – I just have a free account on the Bilt app!
Arriving at the BLADE Heliport
BLADE asks you to arrive just 15 minutes before your scheduled departure, which is really convenient when you’re short on time. We arrived at the heliport and were immediately asked for our IDs. We were quickly checked in and given our slap bracelet wristbands while our bags were weighed and tagged. Each flight has its own color wristbands and baggage tags.
The day we flew, Patrón was doing a pop-up offering passengers shots of tequila, but the BLADE lounge also has a bar if you’d prefer something else. There are also a handful of curated snacks available and one restroom.
Then we just waited by the windows watching helicopters take off and land until we were called to board our flight.
BLADE Flight Review
As we walked out to the helicopter, I was definitely nervous. I’m not a fan of small aircraft and had only been in a helicopter once before. The crew was very nice and guided each passenger where to sit, which is important for weight balance purposes.
We didn’t have to handle any of our luggage – that was all taken care of and stored appropriately.
Once we got seated, we buckled up and were given headsets to be able to talk to one another on the flight. The helicopter could fit 6 passengers + the pilot. Our trip was just 4 passengers, but 2 of them were strangers, so we kept talking to a minimum on the flight.
As soon as we lifted off, we immediately had incredible views over Manhattan! Given that we were flying away from the city, I wasn’t expecting much, but I was facing backwards and had great views the whole way. I was even able to spot the Statue of Liberty way out in the distance.
Despite my anxiety, the flight was pretty smooth (just a couple of bumps here and there) and the views kept my focus off of my anxious thoughts. I really had a great time on this flight and was sad at how quickly it came to an end with a perfect landing at the JFK heliport.
Private Car Service to Our Terminal
After we landed, we were escorted to private cars to take us to our terminal. We didn’t pay for a private car, but got one anyways. Once again, we didn’t have to lift a finger or touch a single piece of luggage. The car was one of the nicest vehicles I’ve ever sat in.
Only a couple minutes later we were dropped at our terminal and were ushered back to reality after living like a celebrity for about 30 minutes.
Final Thoughts – Would I Fly BLADE Again?
BLADE has been quickly expanding their service around the country and abroad in Canada and Europe. You can even charter a private flight. However, I think the most justifiable use case for BLADE is when you need to get somewhere (like the airport) quickly. Just booking a flight because you can seems like waste of money to me, but I’d book BLADE again if I found myself in New York urgently needing to get to/from the airport.
Reminder that you can get $50 off your first BLADE flight by entering code JacquelineS902 at checkout!
Don’t forget to pin this post for future planning!
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