How the 1 Per Cent Will Get to Coachella

I remember one Edgefest years ago when it took me close to four hours to go the 60 kilometres to Molson Park. The traffic on Hwy 400 northbound was bumper-to-bumper the whole way. After about an hour, my wife and I ran out of things to talk about. By hour two, the heat and frustration had taken its toll. By the time we finally pulled into the parking lot, the last thing we wanted to do was join the party.

At some point, one of us said “Why couldn’t we just have taken a helicopter?” That wasn’t an option, of course, but damn, that would have been cool.

Traffic jams and parking hassles continue to be part of the music festival experience. But if you’re part of the 1 per cent, you’re literally above all that.

A company called Blade–which likes to call itself Uber for Helicopters–has reached a deal with the actual Uber to offer stress-free helicopter transportation to and from Coachella. It ain’t cheap–a one-way ride is $4,170 USD–but since each chopper can hold six people, that brings the price down to $695 per person, pocket change for the LA rich and famous who want to go to the festival but can’t be arsed to drive. Expect the paps to cover this story over the two Coachella weekends next month.

Booking space is easy. Just use the Uber app on your smartphone (Blade as an app, too) and you’ll soon have a car to take you to the Van Nuys airport. Once you land, another Uber car will whisk you straight to the gig.

By the way, Blade also operates out of the NYC area taking the rich out to the Hamptons and Martha’s Vineyard.

No class envy from me. Nope.

(Via Fortune)