Country for PR: United States
Contributor: PR Newswire New York
Wednesday, May 05 2021 - 21:50
AsiaNet
Wisk to Provide and Operate up to 30 Electric Vertical Aircraft for Key Blade Urban Air Mobility Routes
NEW YORK and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 5, 2021 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

  -- Wisk, a joint venture between Boeing and Kitty Hawk, to own, operate and
     maintain up to 30 Electric Vertical Aircraft to be deployed on Blade's
     U.S. network

  -- Blade and Wisk to form a working group to engage with regulators and
     municipalities and pursue charging infrastructure and next generation air
     traffic control systems

Blade Urban Air Mobility, Inc. ( https://www.blade.com/p/about )and Wisk Aero 
LLC ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3152359-1&h=3947988191&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwisk.aero%2F&a=Wisk+Aero+LLC 
)today announced an arrangement for Wisk to provide Blade with up to 30 
Electric Vertical Aircraft ("EVA" or "eVTOL").

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1086015/Wisk_Logo.jpg  

Wisk is an Urban Air Mobility ("UAM") company dedicated to delivering safe, 
everyday flight for everyone and is the company behind the first all-electric, 
autonomous eVTOL aircraft in the U.S. Following FAA certification, Blade and 
Wisk intend to deploy the aircraft on short-distance routes between Blade's 
network of dedicated terminals throughout the U.S., with Wisk aircraft being 
chartered by Blade at an hourly rate on those routes. Wisk will be compensated 
based on Blade flight time utilized on the aircraft, which will be owned, 
operated, and maintained by Wisk for Blade's use. Blade expects to leverage its 
existing flight volumes to provide minimum flight hour guarantees to Wisk. 
Wisk's deployment of its aircraft on Blade routes is subject to the parties 
entering into definitive agreements.

Blade and Wisk will also form a working group to assist in the deployment of 
technologies necessary for aircraft charging and next-generation air traffic 
management. The working group will also leverage Blade's six years of 
experience with UAM services in the most congested markets to inform future 
Wisk design principles. Wisk currently operates autonomous eVTOL aircraft 
pursuant to experimental type certificates and plans to begin initial test 
flights in Blade's key service areas when possible.  

"We look forward to working with Wisk to help accelerate Blade's transition 
from conventional rotorcraft to safe, quiet, emission-free Electric Vertical 
Aircraft," said Rob Wiesenthal, CEO of Blade.

"This arrangement validates that UAM is the future of mobility," said Gary 
Gysin, CEO of Wisk. "To date, we have been focused on developing an aircraft 
and customer experience that is efficient, accessible, and - most importantly - 
safe. The combination of our expertise as an autonomous eVTOL aircraft 
manufacturer and operator, with the operational expertise of Blade, will help 
usher in an even greater level of safety and service." 

"The Wisk-Blade arrangement is a perfect fit for our asset light model," said 
Will Heyburn, CFO and Head of Corporate Development for Blade. "Backed by 
Boeing's deep aerospace experience, Wisk will own, operate and maintain their 
aircraft as part of our network, allowing Blade to focus on delivering a great 
experience to our fliers."

Blade and Wisk are both committed to an open-network approach to Urban Air 
Mobility. Wisk intends to provide aircraft to multiple customer-facing 
platforms while Blade expects to utilize a variety of EVA, based on mission 
requirements, and recently announced that it secured 20 piloted EVA from a 
third-party manufacturer, scheduled for deployment starting in late 2024.

About Blade

Blade is a technology-powered urban air mobility platform committed to reducing 
travel friction by providing cost-effective air transportation alternatives to 
some of the most congested ground routes in the U.S. and abroad. Today, the 
company predominantly uses helicopters and amphibious aircraft. Its asset-light 
model, coupled with its exclusive passenger terminal infrastructure, is 
designed to facilitate a seamless transition to Electric Vertical Aircraft 
("EVA" or "eVTOL"), enabling lower cost air mobility to the public that is both 
quiet and zero emissions. 

On December 15, 2020, Blade announced it would become a public company through 
a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, Experience Investment 
Corp. (NASDAQ: EXPC). Closing of the merger is subject to approval by the 
stockholders of both Blade and Experience Investment Corp. and the satisfaction 
or waiver of certain other conditions.

For more information, visit www.blade.com/investors.

About Wisk

Wisk is an urban air mobility company dedicated to delivering safe, everyday 
flight for everyone. Wisk's self-flying, eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and 
landing) air taxi, will make it possible for passengers to skip the traffic and 
get to their destination faster. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area and New 
Zealand, Wisk is an independent company backed by The Boeing Company and Kitty 
Hawk Corporation. With a decade of experience and approximately 1500 test 
flights, Wisk is shaping the future of daily commutes and urban travel, safely 
and sustainably.

For more information, follow us on LinkedIn ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3152359-1&h=2678789183&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fcompany%2Fwisk-aero%2F&a=LinkedIn 
), Twitter ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3152359-1&h=2809492126&u=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FWiskAero&a=Twitter 
), Instagram ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3152359-1&h=4240905587&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fwisk.aero%2F&a=Instagram 
)or Facebook ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3152359-1&h=3596616894&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fwiskaero%2F&a=Facebook 
), or visit wisk.aero ( 
https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=3152359-1&h=1504909784&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwisk.aero%2F&a=wisk.aero 
).

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the 
meaning of the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation 
Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of 
words such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "continue", "expect", 
"estimate", "may", "plan", "outlook", "future" and "project" and other similar 
expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not 
statements of historical matters. Such forward-looking statements, including 
with respect to the agreement between Blade and Wisk and the proposed business 
combination of Blade and Experience Investment Corp. ("EIC"), are subject to 
known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important 
factors, many of which are outside Blade's control, that could cause actual 
results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking 
statements. These risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors 
include, but are not limited to: (1) the occurrence of any event, change or 
other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the agreements 
and transactions described in this press release; (2) the inability to complete 
the transactions due to the failure of any party to satisfy relevant terms and 
conditions; (3) costs related to the transactions; (4) changes in applicable 
laws or regulations and delays in obtaining, adverse conditions contained in, 
or the inability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals required to complete 
the transactions; (5) the possibility that Blade may be adversely affected by 
other economic, business, regulatory and/or competitive factors; (6) the impact 
of COVID-19 on Blade's business and/or the ability of the parties to complete 
the transactions; and (7) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be 
instituted against Blade or any of its directors or officers, following the 
announcement of the transactions.

New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for 
us to predict these events or how they may affect us or the transactions 
described in this press release. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance 
upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made, and 
Blade undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking 
statements, whether as a result of new information, changes in expectations, 
future events or otherwise.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

Experience Investment Corp. ("EIC") has filed with the U.S. Securities and 
Exchange Commission ("SEC") a Registration Statement on Form S-4 (the "Form 
S-4") and a definitive proxy statement/prospectus in connection with the 
proposed business combination (the "Merger") and has mailed the definitive 
proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant documents to its stockholders. 
EIC's stockholders and other interested persons are advised to read the 
definitive proxy statement/prospectus in connection with EIC's solicitation of 
proxies for its stockholders' meeting to be held to approve the Merger because 
the proxy statement/prospectus contains important information about EIC, Blade 
and the Merger. The definitive proxy statement/prospectus has been mailed to 
stockholders of EIC as of March 17, 2021, the record date established for 
voting on the Merger. Stockholders also are able to obtain copies of the 
Registration Statement on Form S-4 and the proxy statement/prospectus, without 
charge, at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or by directing a request to 
Experience Investment Corp., 100 St. Paul St., Suite 800, Denver, CO 80206 or 
mrichardson@riverinc.com.

Participants in the Solicitation

EIC, Blade and certain of their respective directors and officers may be deemed 
participants in the solicitation of proxies of EIC's stockholders with respect 
to the approval of the business combination with Blade. EIC and Blade urge 
investors, stockholders and other interested persons to read the Form S-4 and 
the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and documents incorporated by 
reference therein, as well as other documents filed with the SEC in connection 
with the business combination, as these materials contain important information 
about Blade, EIC and the business combination. Information regarding the 
participants in the proxy solicitation, including EIC's directors and officers 
and Blade's directors and officers, and a description of their respective 
direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, is included 
in the Form S-4 and the definitive proxy statement/prospectus for the business 
combination. Each of these documents is available at the SEC's website or by 
directing a request to EIC as described above under "Additional Information and 
Where to Find It."

No Offer or Solicitation

This communication is not a proxy statement or solicitation of a proxy, 
consent, or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the 
Merger and shall neither constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an 
offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any 
jurisdiction in which the offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior 
to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such 
jurisdiction.

SOURCE: Wisk Aero

CONTACT: For Wisk: media@wisk.aero; For Blade Media Relations: Phil Denning / 
Nora Flaherty, BladeMediaRelations@icrinc.com; For Blade Investor Relations: 
Mike Callahan / Tom Cook, BladeIR@icrinc.com; For Experience Investment Corp.: 
Maureen Richardson, mrichardson@riverinc.com