K-STREET, 10,000 FEET: Meet the helicopter CEO changing the game in cities across the world
THE LOWDOWN:
Rob Wiesenthal started Blade Urban Air Mobility a decade ago and has built the company into a multinational powerhouse.
Wiesenthal told the Reporter that Blade focuses on “accelerat[ing] the transition from helicopters to what we call EVA, electric vertical aircraft, or what most people call eVTOL.”
Wiesenthal noted that helicopters “only burn 40 gallons of clean jet fuel an hour” and that the transportation “doesn’t leave a big carbon footprint.”
Wiesenthal is also a major advocate of a shift to advancing the world’s cityscapes through a “City 2.0 strategy.”
As time marches towards the future, people’s needs evolve. Companies are using cutting-edge methods and technology to address futuristic issues. One thing that seems distant, but is already here, is helicopter taxis.
And Rob Wiesenthal is leading the way as CEO of Blade Urban Air Mobility. Wiesenthal hopped on the phone with the Washington Reporter to talk about his company’s scope, start, and ambitions during the second Trump administration.
Wiesenthal started his now-multinational company a decade ago, saying that they focus on “accelerat[ing] the transition from helicopters to what we call EVA, electric vertical aircraft, or what most people call eVTOL.”
“And the reason why this is important is the eVTOL’s are quiet and emission-free and with
quiet aircraft you can build landing zones in more places,” Wiesenthal said. “Over the years, the number of heliports have declined because of the impact of noise as cities became bigger and more congested.”
Wiesenthal noted that helicopters “only burn 40 gallons of clean jet fuel an hour” and that the transportation “doesn’t leave a big carbon footprint.”
The Blade CEO said his company initially did “leisure routes” but are now offering helicopter flights between New York City and all major surrounding airports and the entirety of Southern Europe.”
“Airport flights are comparable “to the price of an Uber Black.” He also noted that the company’s partnerships with other luxury brands like Mercedes Benz helps both companies reach new customers.
“And, frankly, what a perfect test drive if you think about it,” Wiesenthal said. “You’ve got a great consumer who is obviously interested in travel and speed.” Wiesenthal noted that the passenger is “a great target consumer for Mercedes.”
Wiesenthal also said his company uses their helicopters to deliver life-saving organs to people needing them in hospitals, and has “along the way” become “the largest dedicated air transporter of human organs in the United States.
“We have 22 dedicated aircraft, mostly jets for organ transportation business,” Wiesenthal said, noting the organ transportation side of the business “has become bigger than Blade’s passenger business.”
On the subject of government streamlining, Wiesenthal praised the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team as “incredibly smart, incredibly talented, and fast-moving,” adding that “whether you are a new president or new CEO, one is presented with a very limited amount of time to make rapid change before the preexisting bureaucracy recements itself.”
“I think they're working on providing much more transparency on what they're doing especially with respect to the misinformation out there about entitlement cuts which are truly not in the plans right now,” Wiesenthal said.
Wiesenthal is also a major advocate of a shift to advancing the world’s cityscapes through a “City 2.0 strategy.”
“I think it's clear that if you want to embrace the City 2.0 strategy you're going to have to have an urban air mobility strategy,” Wiesenthal said, noting that urban air travel like Blade’s helicopters takes advantage of the “third layer” of urban mobility: the skies above conventional ground transportation but below commercial jet traffic.
“If you take a look at Dubai and Abu Dhabi, given their laser focus on innovation, urban air mobility is a priority for them. And this is why they’re likely to be the first market in the world to enjoy eVTOL,” Wiesenthal said.
People in cities need multimodality. They want to use scooters, bicycles, robotaxis, Ubers, their own cars, trains, and soon eVTOL,” he continued. “You need the right vehicle for the mission.”