Annual report [Section 13 and 15(d), not S-K Item 405]

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

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Goodwill and Intangible Assets
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2024
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]  
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Goodwill and Intangible Assets
Goodwill

The changes in the carrying value of goodwill are as follows:

Goodwill balance, January 1, 2023 $ 39,445 
Adjustment (1) 100 
Foreign currency translation 828 
Goodwill balance, December 31, 2023 $ 40,373 
Additions (2) 2,212 
Foreign currency translation (1,535)
Goodwill balance, December 31, 2024 $ 41,050 
(1) Represents a measurement period adjustment made during the year ended December 31, 2023.
(2) Additions represent goodwill associated with the acquisition of CJK. See Note 4 for additional information.

The goodwill pertains to the Trinity Acquisition on September 15, 2021, Blade Europe Acquisition on September 1, 2022 and the CJK Acquisition on September 26, 2024.
Intangible Assets

The following table presents information about the Company’s intangible assets as of:

December 31, 2024 December 31, 2023
Estimated Useful Life
Gross
Carrying
Amount
Accumulated
Amortization

 
Net
Gross
Carrying
Amount

Accumulated
Amortization

Net
Exclusive rights to air transportation services(1)(2)
5-12 years
 $ 6,664  $ (3,267) $ 3,397  $ 18,946  $ (8,042) $ 10,904 
Customer list(1)
3-10 years
 12,063  (4,880) 7,183  12,094  (3,653) 8,441 
Domain name Indefinite 504  —  504  504  —  504 
Trademarks
6-10 years
 1,006  (560) 446  1,006  (392) 614 
Developed technology
3 years
 2,555  (432) 2,123  250  (194) 56 
Total $ 22,792  $ (9,139) $ 13,653  $ 32,800  $ (12,281) $ 20,519 
(1) Includes intangible assets associated with the acquisition of Blade Europe.
(2) In 2023, exclusive rights to air transportation services include exclusive rights to Helijet’s scheduled passenger routes in Canada acquired in 2021.
For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, amortization of its finite-lived intangible assets were $2,986 and $6,036, respectively.
As of December 31, 2024, the estimated amortization expense of its finite-lived intangible assets for each of the next five years are as follows:

For the Year Ended December 31,
2025 $ 2,456 
2026 2,285 
2027 1,993 
2028 1,616 
2029 1,615 
Thereafter 2,387 
Total $ 12,352 

2024 Impairment

During the year ended December 31, 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 is included within general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of operations and is part of the Passenger segment. The impairment resulted from a modification to the November 30, 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).

2023 Impairment

During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recognized an impairment charge for the exclusive rights to air transportation services associated with the acquisition of Blade Europe in the amount of $20,753, which was included in intangible impairment expense within general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of operations and is part of the Passenger segment. The impairment was as a result of adjustments made to the near term projections for revenue, expenses and expected EVA introduction, to reflect our experience operating Blade Europe since September 2022 as well as expected delays in the commercialization of EVA.

Fair value was determined using the discounted estimated cash flows to measure the impairment loss for the asset group for which undiscounted future net cash flows were not sufficient to recover the net book value.

The estimated cash flows used to assess the recoverability of our long-lived assets and measure fair value are derived from current business plans. These plans consider price and volume projections. Other important assumptions include flight-hour costs, timing of EVA becoming commercial, EVA cost of operation, and the use of an appropriate discount rate. We believe our estimates and models are similar to what a market participant would use.

The fair value measurement of our long-lived assets is considered a Level 3 measurement because it relies on significant inputs not observable in the market. These inputs include discount rates and determination of long-term estimates of profitability and cash flow values. We used a weighted average discount rate of 12.5% to calculate the fair value of the impaired asset groups in 2023. This rate, along with the long-term estimates of profitability and cash flow values, represents management’s best estimate of what a market participant would use.