Californian Festival Goers Given Option to Skate Over 5+ Hours of Traffic for Music Getaway

Capitalizing on expected record crowds expected for Coachella 2022, Blade has opened direct flight service between the Santa Monica airport and its custom lounge at Thermal Airport.

The intra state service will take festival goers out of the snarled LA traffic and bring them out for the weekend event. Festival attendees will fly direct, with additional charter services available to bypass traffic elsewhere amid the expected crowds. This year marks the return of the huge music festival, back for the first time since 2019. Blade's service will run both weekends, providing a combination of helicopter, plane, and jet flights between LA and Indio, California.

“One of the most powerful ways to introduce the value of urban air mobility to the public is to offer air mobility service to large events, such as professional sports, festivals, and concerts, where existing road infrastructure becomes heavily strained due to massive arrivals and departures during narrow windows. Blade’s service over both festival weekends will be turning what has historically been up to 5 hour drives to and from LA into 40 minute flights for attendees,” said Jeffrey Brenner, Blade’s head of global partnerships and activations.

“Blade is excited to supercharge festival goers' trips back out to the desert to experience live events in a way we have not seen since 2019 and now thanks to our partnership with St. James Organic Green Tea, Blade fliers will have access to the exclusive St. James Desert Lounge at Thermal Airport, offering cold refreshments as they travel to or from the desert.”

Melissa Tomkiel, Blade’s president, said the show was a chance to reach a new range of clientele outside the norm. “This is yet another opportunity for Blade to showcase our operational excellence and unique capabilities on one of the biggest stages in pop culture. As we continue to move more people in and out of city centers around the world, we remain focused on growing our service offerings on the West Coast and at marquee events facing unique congestion.”

FMI: www.blade.com