Bengaluru takes another leap in Mobility, Heli Taxis to start flying next week

While Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was here in India this week and touched upon sustainable mobility and flying cars, Bengaluru seems to have taken the mobility leap to yet another level. Bengaluru’s much-awaited heli taxi service is expected to take off sometime next week. While the exact date is yet to be announced, Thumby Aviation, the company operating the helicopter taxis, told CNT that permissions for the same have been received. Two Bell 407 helicopters will fly passengers from Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport to Electronic City, Phase 1 and to HAL Airport. This means that a journey that usually takes two hours by road will now take only 15 minutes. As per the report, the heli taxi will operate in two shifts for now. The flights are timed according to peak business hours. There will be an average of three round-trips between the airport and Electronic City from 6.30 am to 9.30 am and another three round-trips from 3.00 pm to 6.15 pm. The four-blade, single-engine Bell 407 chopper to be used as a heli taxi can seat up to six people. Meanwhile tickets for the heli taxi are priced at $63.7 (INR 4,130) per seat. It includes the drive from the Bengaluru airport terminal to the helipad on the premises. It also includes carry-on luggage up to 15kg. Anything over that will have to be shipped over ground at extra cost. Source: inc42.com