Weather and Delay Policies

How can I check my flight status?

You can see your flight’s status by viewing Your Upcoming Trips.

What if the weather is bad?

In the event the weather conditions are not within our standards for flying, you will be notified by Team BLADE via both text and email two hours prior to departure for by-the-seat flights and one hour prior for charters.

If you selected the Max fareclass, you have the choice between a refund in BLADE credits or cash. For the Basic and Flex fares, all refunds are in BLADE credits.

If you are traveling between Manhattan and the airport, you can select a BLADE back-up car that will pick you up at a pre-agreed location and drive you to your destination without worry and with ample time to get to your airport terminal or back into the city. Just like we actively manage and monitor your helicopter mission, we will oversee your ground transfer to ensure the car is waiting for you and staged at the right place with drivers trained to take the quickest route to the airport. The cost of the BLADE Back-Up Car Service will simply be applied against your flight credit for BLADE Airport. Pricing will be consistent with Uber Black at the time, and will never exceed $195.

In the event of an in lounge cancellation, BLADE will provide a vehicle to your final destination.

What can cause a cancellation?

Your flight may be canceled due to inclement weather, low visibility, unforeseen mechanical issues or temporary flight restrictions, or airport/heliport congestion.

Pilots make the final call as to whether a flight will be canceled or whether one in progress needs to be diverted to another airport. While weather conditions for a flight must be within FAA regulations and operator rules, pilots may unilaterally choose to cancel or divert a flight based on their own judgment of the safety of the immediate and forthcoming weather conditions.

Any diversions or cancellations will be immediately communicated via both text and email.

What if my flight is delayed?

BLADE will notify you of any delays at least one hour prior to your scheduled departure time.

If you booked the Max Fare Class, you have full flexibility to cancel or change your flight all the way up to the time of departure for Airport flights and up to an hour prior to your departure time for a Hamptons flight, for no additional fee.

With the High Flexibility Fare Class you can cancel or change your flight for no additional fee up to one hour prior to departure time for Airport flights and, for flights from the Hamptons to Manhattan on Monday mornings, you can change or cancel up to one hour prior to departure with a High Flexibility, vs the three-hour policy on all other Hamptons flights.

Why was I asked to switch aircrafts?

In order to minimize the passenger impact of cancellations and delays due to weather, unforeseen mechanical events, temporary flight restrictions and airport congestion, BLADE may reassign you to a different aircraft than the type on which you originally purchased your ticket. Such reassignments may include moving between helicopters, seaplanes and turboprop aircraft.

My flight was rescheduled for an earlier takeoff?

If BLADE has to move your flight to a time earlier than your scheduled departure time due to weather, unforeseen mechanical issues or Temporary Flight Restrictions and you are unable to make the newly scheduled flight, BLADE will credit your account for the purchased fare.

Which aircraft can I take to avoid weather delays?

Each type of aircraft has different inclement weather-flying capabilities.

• Superior: Seaplanes (Aqua, Aqua Xcel, Aqua Ultra) - Seaplanes have greater flexibility when taking off in inclement weather and have a lesser chance of weather cancellations than helicopter flights during the morning because of their increased IFR capability. They also have a higher likelihood of flying out on Monday mornings in New York because they are based in East Hampton on the weekends.
  
• Superior: IFR Helicopter (Sikorsky S-76 C++) - Helicopters operating under Instrument Flight Rules can operate when the cloud ceiling is over 500 feet along the entire flight path, subject to Air Traffic Control delays. The Sikorsky is also a great option for those looking to land on the West Side of Manhattan on poor weather days.
  
• Solid: VFR Helicopter (Xcel, Agusta) -Helicopters operating under Visual Flight Rules can operate when the cloud ceiling is over 1,500 feet and visibility is greater than 3mi along the entire flight path.