Blade Air Mobility, Inc. (BLDE)

Blade Air Mobility was a New York based company that arranged short-distance air travel, best known for helicopter and seaplane flights between Manhattan, the area airports and resort destinations such as the Hamptons. Blade did not own most of the aircraft it used; it operated an asset-light model in which third-party operators flew the routes while Blade handled bookings, customer experience and its own branded terminals.

Alongside passenger flights, Blade built a medical logistics business that transported human organs and medical teams for hospitals and transplant centers by jet and helicopter. That unit grew faster than passenger travel and became the larger part of revenue, supported by acquisitions of air medical operators in the United States. Contracts with transplant centers gave the segment steadier demand than leisure travel, which rose and fell with the seasons and with demand for premium commuting in the New York area.

Blade went public in May 2021 by merging with Experience Investment Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, and its shares then traded on Nasdaq under the symbol BLDE. The company pitched itself as a future customer for electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft on its urban routes. After the listing, the stock traded well below its debut levels for most of its public life as the company worked toward profitability and refined which businesses to keep.

In August 2025 Blade sold its passenger division to Joby Aviation in a deal worth up to $125 million, payable largely in Joby stock. The sale closed on August 29, 2025, and the remaining company, focused entirely on medical transport, renamed itself Strata Critical Medical, Inc. and began trading under the ticker SRTA, ending use of the BLDE symbol. Joby gained Blade's lounges, routes and customer base as a launch platform for its planned electric air taxi service.