Woman opts for helicopter to travel within city instead of paying ₹11,000 for Uber

An Indian-American woman chose a helicopter ride to travel from Manhattan to Queens in New York instead of shelling out $131 (nearly ₹11,000) for an Uber. The difference in fare between the two modes of transport was nominal – Khushi Suri claims she paid only around $30 extra for the helicopter but saved a lot of time in the process.

Suri, an employee at Kleiner Perkins, shared a screenshot showing the difference in fare and time between taking an Uber vs flying on a Blade helicopter. The screenshots show that she wanted to travel from Manhattan to John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens – a distance of 18 miles or almost 29 km. Manhattan and Queens are both boroughs of New York City.

The Uber fare for Suri came to $131.99 ( ₹11,000) for a journey of 1 hour, while the Blade helicopter ride from Manhattan to JFK cost $165 for a 5-minute ride.

“60 min uber or 5 min helicopter ride – literally a $30 difference,” Suri wrote on X, tagging Blade Air Mobility. Her post has gone viral with over 4 million views.

Take a look at it below:

When asked if she opted for an Uber or helicopter, Suri simply shared an aerial view of NYC, implying she chose the latter.

Blade Air Mobility is an aviation company, headquartered in New York City, that primarily uses helicopters on passenger routes. It provides helicopter service between Manhattan and JFK, giving customers the option of booking a spot on the chopper through the Blade app.

In the comments section, Suri explained that she had messaged Blade founder Rob Wiesenthal on Instagram around five years ago and has been a fan of the company ever since. Blade users get discount code for referrals, she explained, as she shared her own code for anyone wanting $50 off on their first Blade helicopter ride.