Electric Aircraft Will Disrupt Urban Air Mobility From 2025, Says Blade India Chief
Eve Air Mobility estimated that the market in India in 2028 will be 4,000 electric crafts, Amit Dutta said.
Electric aircraft will disrupt urban air mobility from 2025 onwards as road congestion steadily gets worse in the country, according to Amit Dutta of Blade India.
“Globally, there are over 170 electric crafts in development, and we are in discussions with a large number of them,” Dutta, managing director at the short-haul air transport company, told BQ Prime.
Blade India—a joint venture between Hunch Ventures and the U.S.-based Blade Air Mobility—ordered 200 electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles two months ago from Eve Air Mobility, a unit of the Brazilian planemaker Embraer S.A.
The aircraft—which are in advanced stage of development in several countries—will take off and land vertically, and the noiseless and low carbon footprint operations are expected to make them city-friendly.
Room For Growth
While it is a nascent market currently, it may grow rapidly in the coming years. Dutta cited Eve Air Mobility estimates that the Indian market will have 4,000 electric crafts by 2028.
The company started its pilot pay-by-seat helicopter service between Bengaluru airport and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. airport in October, reducing travel time to 12 minutes compared with a two-hour road journey.
The company has priced the ticket at Rs 3,250 per passenger. The five-seater service operates five times a week.
According to Dutta, the response has been encouraging, with customers demanding improved frequency for better reliability.
“Chartering a helicopter has been expensive, so (it's) limited to only industrialists, politicians, etc.” Dutta said. “What we are doing is opening (it) to somebody who would have gone even maybe in economy class ticket on a Vistara flight.”
The air transport company is in talks with several carriers to complement the passengers’ journey from the airport to the city, while it is also eyeing opportunities in air ambulance service.
Any short-haul air route comprising religious or leisure travel is also a potential market for Blade India.
“A lot of state governments have been reaching out to us because they see us as an opportunity of improving elite tourism revenue in their states,” he said. “I think maybe within the next 12-24 months, we would cover a very significant portion of India.”
Teething Issues
As it happens with every new industry, urban air mobility is also facing certain teething issues, with concerned government departments to regulators still warming up to the idea.
“The space will need an entire ecosystem—from landing spots to air traffic management—to be successful,” Dutta said.
Dutta, who is also the co-chair of the luxury vertical at Confederation of Indian Industry, said the industry body has already prepared an exhaustive document of draft guidelines with the government to develop urban air mobility as a distinct platform.
Even though building an entire ecosystem at a staggering pace seems like an uphill battle, Dutta—who has worked in telecom and automobile industries before—pinned hope on demand driving solutions.
Recalling the launch of wireless services in 2003, he said the country had less than 10,000 mobile phones then, which grew to nearly a billion within a decade.
“When there is consumer demand, you will find a way,” he said.