An Indian-American woman is drawing attention after opting for a helicopter ride to bypass New York City’s notorious traffic. Khushi Suri, an employee at Kleiner Perkins, needed to travel from Manhattan to John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens. Faced with a choice between a 60-minute Uber ride and a 5-minute helicopter trip, she chose the latter as the price difference was only $30.
Suri shared a screenshot comparing the costs and travel times: an Uber ride costing $131.99 for an hour versus a Blade helicopter ride costing $165 for just five minutes.
“60 min Uber or 5 min helicopter ride – literally a $30 difference,” she tweeted, tagging Blade Air Mobility.
Her tweet quickly went viral, amassing over 4 million views and sparking a lively debate in the comments section.
One user wrote, “Is this real? I honestly just want to ride in a helicopter.” Another commented, “You gotta go with the helicopter just for the vibes.”
However, some criticized her choice. One user said, “Regular citizens racking up helicopter CO2 emissions just to go a few miles is sick!! Humans have lost the plot.” Another pointed out, “Important missing piece is that the Blade doesn’t pick you up or drop you off at your start and end points. You still need a full end-to-end solution. It’s great, but not an apples-to-apples comparison.”
In the comments, Suri mentioned that she had messaged Blade founder Rob Wiesenthal on Instagram five years ago and has been a fan of the company since. Blade Air Mobility, based in New York City, primarily uses helicopters for passenger routes and offers helicopter service between Manhattan and JFK.