Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

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Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2024
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Description of Business
Blade Air Mobility, Inc. (“Blade” or the “Company”) provides air transportation and logistics for hospitals across the United States, where it is one of the largest transporters of human organs for transplant, and for passengers, with helicopter and fixed wing services primarily in the Northeast United States and Southern Europe. Based in New York City, Blade's asset-light model, coupled with its exclusive passenger terminal infrastructure and proprietary technologies, is designed to facilitate a seamless transition from helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to Electric Vertical Aircraft (“EVA” or “eVTOL”), enabling lower cost air mobility that is both quiet and emission-free.
Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation
The accompanying unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. Management’s opinion is that all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair presentation of financial position, results of operations and cash flows at the dates and for the periods presented have been included. Operating results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s consolidated financial statements and accompanying Notes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Short-Term Investments
Held-to-Maturity Securities
The Company's investments in held-to-maturity securities consist of investment grade U.S. Treasury obligations with maturity dates of less than 365 days. The Company has the ability and intention to hold these securities until maturity. Accordingly, these securities are recorded in the Company's unaudited interim condensed consolidated balance sheet at amortized cost and interest is recorded within interest income on the Company's unaudited interim condensed consolidated statement of operations. The held-to-maturity securities balance and market value at June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023 were $115,643 and $115,545, and $138,264 and $138,285, respectively. The fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such market value is Level 2. See Note 11 – Fair Value Measurements for additional information.
Software Development Costs

The Company incurs costs related to the development of its technology stack. The costs consist of personnel costs (including related benefits and stock-based compensation) and external vendor costs incurred during the development stage. Capitalization of costs begins when two criteria are met: (1) the preliminary project stage is completed, and (2) it is probable that the software will be completed and used for its intended function. Capitalization ceases when the project is substantially complete and the developed features are ready for their intended use, including the completion of all significant testing. Costs related to preliminary project activities, post implementation operating activities and system maintenance are expensed as incurred.

Capitalized costs are included in intangible assets and amortized over three years, on a straight-line basis, which represents the manner in which the expected benefit will be derived. The amortization of capitalized software development costs are recorded within software development expense in our unaudited interim condensed consolidated statement of operations.

Concentrations

Financial instruments which potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consists principally of cash amounts on deposit with financial institutions. At times, the Company’s cash in banks is in excess of the Federal Deposit
Insurance corporation (“FDIC”) insurance limit. The Company has not experienced any loss as a result of these deposits.
Major Customers

No single customer accounted for 10% or more of the Company’s revenue for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023.

No single customer accounted for 10% or more of the Company’s outstanding accounts receivable as of June 30, 2024 or as of December 31, 2023.

Major Vendors

No single vendor accounted for 10% or more of the Company’s purchases from operating vendors for the three months ended June 30, 2024. One vendor accounted for 12% of the Company’s purchases from operating vendors for the three months ended June 30, 2023.

One vendor accounted for 11% and 12% of the Company’s purchases from operating vendors for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

No single vendor accounted for more than 10% of the Company’s outstanding accounts payable as of June 30, 2024. Two vendors accounted for 17% and 10%, respectively, of the Company’s outstanding accounts payable as of December 31, 2023.

Property and Equipment, Net

Property and equipment are carried at cost, net of accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is computed utilizing the straight-line method over the estimated useful life of the asset. Residual values estimated for aircraft are approximately 10% of the original purchase price. Expenditures that increase the value or productive capacity of assets are capitalized, and maintenance and repair are expensed as incurred (see below for further information). Leasehold improvements depreciation is computed over the shorter of the lease term or estimated useful life of the asset.

During the period from April 1, 2024 through May 2, 2024, Blade completed the acquisition of seven aircraft (“Acquired Aircraft”) from M&N Equipment, LLC (“M&N”), Atlas Jet, Inc and Aviation Bridge, LLC for a combined purchase price of approximately $17,621. The funding for these acquisitions involved the utilization of $9,269 from existing prepaid deposits under existing Capacity Purchase Agreements (“CPAs”) with M&N which were refunded to Blade and applied to the purchase, $5,489 in cash and the remaining amount payable was included in accounts payable and accrued expenses, which were subject to traditional closing conditions, inspections, holdbacks and adjustments. Blade intends to utilize the acquired aircraft, which were previously dedicated to Blade under existing CPAs (see Note 3 for further information on CPAs) to support its Medical business line. The Acquired Aircraft will continue to be operated by the same operator.

Useful Life
(in years)
June 30,
2024
December 31,
2023
Aircraft, engines and related rotable parts
5 - 20
$ 17,548  $ — 
Furniture and fixtures
5
1,967  886 
Technology equipment
3
561  402 
Leasehold improvements Shorter of useful life or life of lease 3,071  3,016 
Vehicles
5
2,538  1,750 
Total property and equipment, gross 25,685  6,054 
Less: Accumulated depreciation (3,592) (3,155)
Total property and equipment, net $ 22,093  $ 2,899 

For the three months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, the Company recorded depreciation expense for property and equipment of $663 and $260, respectively. For the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, the Company recorded depreciation expense for property and equipment of $1,188 and $500, respectively. Depreciation expense for aircraft,
engines and related rotable parts are recorded in Cost of revenue while the remaining property and equipment are recorded within general and administrative expenses.

Aircraft Maintenance and Repair

Expenses related to the regular maintenance and repair of aircraft are recorded as they are incurred, unless they are covered by a long-term flight hour service agreement with a third-party.

Impairment of long-lived assets

The Company assesses long-lived assets for impairment in accordance with the provisions of Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) ASC 360, Property, Plant and Equipment (“ASC 360”). Long-lived assets, except for goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets, consist of property and equipment and finite-lived acquired intangible assets, such as exclusive rights to air transportation services, customer lists and trademarks. Long-lived assets, except for goodwill and indefinite intangible assets, are tested for recoverability whenever events or changes in business circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be fully recoverable. If such events or changes in circumstances arise, the Company compares the carrying amount of the long-lived assets to the estimated future undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated by the long-lived assets. If the estimated aggregate undiscounted cash flows are less than the carrying amount of the long-lived assets, an impairment charge, calculated as the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the assets, is recorded. The fair value of the long-lived assets is determined through various valuation techniques, including estimated discounted cash flows expected to be generated from the long-lived asset and pricing information on comparable market transactions, unless another method provides a more reliable estimate. If an impairment loss is recognized, the adjusted carrying amount of a long-lived asset is recognized as a new cost basis of the impaired asset. Impairment loss is not reversed even if fair value exceeds carrying amount in subsequent periods.

For the six months ended June 30, 2024, the Company recorded an impairment charge of $5,759 related to the exclusive rights to air transportation services associated with Blade Canada. The charge brought the net book value of the exclusive rights to zero. This amount was included within general and administrative expenses in the unaudited interim condensed consolidated statements of operations and is part of the Passenger segment. The impairment resulted from a modification to the November 31, 2021 agreement with Helijet, effective June 1, 2024, which included an earlier termination date of August 31, 2025 (previously an initial term of five years with automatic renewals for successive two-year periods). The early termination was part of management's efforts to enhance profitability in the Passenger segment.

The fair value was calculated using the discounted estimated cash flows projected over the periods leading up to the agreement’s termination date, to measure the impairment loss for the asset group for which undiscounted future net cash flows were not sufficient to cover the net book value. The estimated cash flows, derived from current business plans, indicated that the asset group would generate losses. As a result, the exclusive rights were fully impaired. The fair value measurement of our long-lived assets is considered a Level 3 measurement due to the reliance on significant inputs not observable in the market. These inputs include short-term losses and cash flow estimates.

As of June 30, 2024, the remaining exclusive rights to air transportation services intangible asset balance is $3,676, which relates to the air transportation rights associated with the acquisition of Blade Europe. This amount is included in the intangibles assets, net line item on the unaudited interim condensed consolidated balance sheet.

Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. These exemptions include, but are not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected to use such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s consolidated financial statements with another public company that is not an emerging growth company or is an emerging growth company that has opted out of using the extended transition period, difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience, current business factors, and various other assumptions that the Company believes are necessary to consider to form a basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities, the recorded amounts of revenue and expenses, and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. The Company is subject to uncertainties such as the impact of future events, economic and political factors, and changes in the Company’s business environment; therefore, actual results could differ from these estimates. Accordingly, the accounting estimates used in the preparation of the Company’s financial statements will change as new events occur, as more experience is acquired, as additional information is obtained and as the Company’s operating environment evolves.
Changes in estimates are made when circumstances warrant. Such changes in estimates and refinements in estimation methodologies are reflected in reported results of operations; if material, the effects of changes in estimates are disclosed in the notes to the financial statements. Significant estimates and assumptions by management include, but are not limited to, the fair value of intangible assets and goodwill, the determination of whether a contract contains a lease, the allocation of consideration between lease and non-lease components, the determination of incremental borrowing rates for leases and the provision for income taxes and related deferred tax accounts.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements - Not Adopted

In October 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-06, Disclosure Improvements. The new guidance clarifies or improves disclosure and presentation requirements on a variety of topics in the codification. The amendments in the update are intended to align the requirements in the FASB ASC with the SEC’s regulations. The amendments are effective prospectively on the date each individual amendment is effectively removed from Regulation S-X or Regulation S-K, or if the SEC has not removed the requirements by June 30, 2027, this amendment will be removed from the Codification and will not become effective for any entity. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact the adoption of this ASU will have on the financial statements and related disclosures.

In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures, which expands the segment disclosures of public entities. This expansion includes the requirement to disclose significant segment expenses that are regularly provided to the chief operating decision maker and are included within each reported measure of segment profit or loss. Additionally, the ASU mandates the disclosure of the amount and description of the composition of other segment items, as well as interim disclosures of a reportable segment's profit or loss and assets. These disclosure requirements apply to public entities with a single reportable segment as well. The ASU will be effective for the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, and early adoption is allowed. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact the adoption of this ASU will have on the financial statements and related disclosures.

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures (Topic 740). The ASU requires disaggregated information about a reporting entity’s effective tax rate reconciliation as well as additional information on income taxes paid. The ASU is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024 on a prospective basis. Early adoption is also permitted for annual financial statements that have not yet been issued or made
available for issuance. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact the adoption of this ASU will have on the financial statements and related disclosures.

In March 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-02, Codification Improvements - Amendments to Remove References to the Concept Statements. This ASU amends the Codification to remove references to various concepts statements and impacts a variety of topics in the Codification. The amendments apply to all reporting entities within the scope of the affected accounting guidance. Generally, the amendments in ASU 2024-02 are not intended to result in significant accounting changes for most entities. ASU 2024-02 is effective January 1, 2025. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact the adoption of this ASU will have on the financial statements and related disclosures.

Other recent accounting pronouncements issued by the FASB (including its Emerging Issues Task Force) and the SEC have not had, or are not anticipated to have, a significant effect on the Company's unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements, both present and future.