Blade Is Betting on the Gap Between $1,000 and $25,000

Blade is relaunching BladeOne, its semi-private jet service between the New York area and Florida, with flights running from November 19, 2026 through May 2, 2027. The route links Westchester County Airport in New York to Miami-Opa Locka and to West Palm Beach.

The aircraft is an Embraer E135 configured with just 16 seats in a one-by-one layout across eight rows, noticeably smaller than the 30-seat configurations that rival JSX flies. Every flight comes with Starlink Wi-Fi, an amenity kit, and food and drink service, and Blade can book helicopter transfers between Manhattan and Westchester.

JSX already dominates this exact corridor and has a big advantage: a partnership with United that lets passengers earn MileagePlus miles. Blade has no frequent flyer program of its own, though it accepts Bilt Cash as payment.

Blade’s chief executive, Rob Wiesenthal, describes BladeOne as sitting squarely in the white space between a $1,000 first-class seat and a $25,000 private jet charter. For snowbirds, the question will be whether a smaller cabin and a helicopter hop are worth giving up a mileage-earning rival.

Sources: The Points Guy, Upgraded Points