AIRPORT VOICE, NOVEMBER 2019 13
Sheltair helicpoter partnership
Blade flies out of JFK, Republic
Sheltair Aviation and Blade announce
a strategic partnership
that enhances NY metro options
for the aero commuter.
The partnership will bolster
existing air mobility access while
building the foundation for the
coming shift to Electric Vertical
Take-Off and Landing (“eVTOL”)
aircraft
Sheltair, Inc. (“Sheltair”) and
BLADE Urban Air Mobility, Inc.
(“BLADE”) have announced an
alliance to expand Urban Air Mobility
opportunities for the New
York metro “aero commuter” while
working to build the infrastructure
necessary to support the future
arrival of electrically powered
vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL)
aircraft.
Sheltair is the sole operator of
helicopter landing sites at New
York’s JFK and LaGuardia airports
while BLADE is the largest
arranger of helicopter flights
for civilian travel in the United
States. It maintains approximately
90% market share for bythe
seat helicopter travel in New
York City.
“The combination of Sheltair’s
exclusive presence at both of New
York’s commercial airports and
BLADE’s leading market share
cannot be replicated by any other
companies in existence today,”
said Rob Wiesenthal, BLADE’s
CEO, “New York City is the largest
Urban Air Mobility market in the
world and, together, we can enable
new, cost-effective offerings that
will be competitive with app-based
ridesharing prices while delivering
massive time savings and productivity
gains to commuters.”
Sheltair’s Regional Vice President,
Robert McAdams, stated,
“Emails, texts and video calls
haven’t eliminated our need to get
from point A to point B in the fastest,
smartest way possible. That
is why Sheltair has teamed up
with BLADE to ensure that people
whose time is precious can access
safe, reliable helicopters from
our strategically located terminals
that provide access to destinations
throughout the New York
metropolitan area. We haven’t reinvented
the dynamics of flight but
we have made it far easier to benefit
from the considerable experience
and extraordinary service
commitment of this ground/air
service team.”
Know where to go.
Traffic lights in bathrooms
Bathrooms are big news in the
airports this year. LaGuardia Gateway
Partners are proud of their
new, large and accommodating
bathrooms at LaGuardia; the Port
is please with their new facilities at
Jamaica Station, the LGA Marine
Air Terminal has spiffed up theirs,
and now Delta’s Terminal D-east
follows suite.
“Smart Rest rooms are growing
and here to stay”, said Allen Klevens,
President and CEO of Modus
Systems (inventor of Tooshlights).
“When passengers walk into a
Smart Rest room at an airport,
most of the “smarts” are behind
the scenes. Passengers are not surprised
to see soap and water come
out automatically with a wave of
their hands any longer. However,
with Tooshlights, we are able to not
only bring the WOW factor back
into the rest room with our red and
green indicator lights (occupied vs
available stalls), we will ensure that
the lines in the rest rooms are efficient
and passengers will easily
KNOW WHERE TO GO!”
If you have been keeping up with
the latest airport renovations and
designs, you most likely already
know about the complete re-design
of New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
With the latest technology being
designed in to these new facilities,
Tooshlights has played an integral
role within the Smart Rest room
space. Partnering with TRAX, a
Smart Rest room integration company
based out of Atlanta, facility
teams will be able to gather more insight
and data regarding rest room
usage, assisting their staff to know
when the rest rooms need to be serviced.
LGA is just one of the latest installations
for Tooshlights in the
airport space. Earlier this year,