Blade Air Mobility (BLDE) Risk Factors

The operation of aircraft is subject to various risks, and demand for air transportation has and may in the future be impacted by accidents or other safety issues regardless of whether such accidents or issues involve Blade flights, our third-party aircraft operators, or aircraft flown by our third-party aircraft operators. Air transportation hazards, such as adverse weather conditions and fire and mechanical failures, may result in death or injury to personnel and passengers which could impact client or passenger confidence in a particular aircraft type or the air transportation services industry as a whole and could lead to a reduction in volume, particularly if such accidents or disasters were due to a safety fault. Safety statistics for air travel are reported by multiple parties, including the Department of Transportation ("DOT") and National Transportation Safety Board ("NTSB"), and are often separated into categories of transportation. Because our services include a variety of transportation methods, our customers may have a hard time determining how safe our services are, and their confidence in the safety of our services may be impacted by, among other things, the classification of accidents in ways that reflect poorly on urban air mobility services, organ transportation services, air medical transportation or the transportation methods they utilize. While we do not own, operate or maintain aircraft, we believe that safety and reliability are two of the primary attributes fliers consider when selecting air transportation services. Our failure, or that of our third-party operators, to maintain standards of safety and reliability that are satisfactory to our customers may adversely impact our ability to retain current customers and attract new customers. We are at risk of adverse publicity stemming from any public incident involving our company, our people, or our brand. Such an incident could involve the actual or alleged behavior of any of our employees or third-party aircraft operators. Further, if our personnel, one of our third-party operators' aircraft, one of our third-party operators' Blade-branded aircraft, or a type of aircraft in our third-party operators' fleet that is used by us is involved in a public incident, accident, catastrophe, or regulatory enforcement action, we could be exposed to significant reputational harm and potential legal liability. Blade-branded aircraft have in the past been involved in accidents and despite our best efforts, there can be no guarantee that such events will not occur in the future. The insurance we carry may be inapplicable or inadequate to cover any such incident, accident, catastrophe, or action. In the event that our insurance is inapplicable or inadequate, we may be forced to bear substantial losses from an incident or accident. In addition, any such incident, accident, catastrophe, or action involving our employees, one of the Blade-branded aircraft used by us belonging to our third-party operators' fleet (or personnel and aircraft of our third-party operators), or the same type of aircraft as used by our third-party operators could create an adverse public perception, which could harm our reputation, resulting in current or prospective customers being reluctant to use our services and adversely impacting our business, results of operations, and financial condition. If one or more of our third-party aircraft operators were to suffer an accident or lose the ability to fly certain aircraft due to safety concerns or investigations, we may be required to cancel or delay certain flights until replacement aircraft and personnel are obtained.

We rely significantly on contractual relationships with certain transplant centers, hospitals and Organ Procurement Organizations and other strategic partners and alliances to generate revenues, expand into new markets and further penetrate existing markets. In recent years, we have entered into strategic business relationships with, among others, Organ Procurement Organizations, hospitals and transplant centers to increase growth in our MediMobility Organ Transport product line. Our MediMobility Organ Transport product line growth is highly dependent on the procurement of human organs for transplant by our MediMobility Organ Transport Customers. If our MediMobility Organ Transport Customers cannot procure human organs for transplant or the industry experiences a shortage of human organs, we may face challenges in fulfilling our contractual obligations with third-party aircraft and ground operators. This could negatively impact our reputation, ability to generate increased revenue and achieve profitability. Additionally, if new organ preservation technology or the emergence of animal-derived, synthetic, or lab-grown organs makes rapid, dedicated air transportation of human organs unnecessary, our MediMobility Organ Transport Customers may no longer require our services to successfully complete organ transplants for their patients, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Though we do not own or operate aircraft, we maintain general liability aviation premise insurance, non-owned aircraft liability coverage, and directors and officers insurance, and we believe our level of coverage is customary in the industry and adequate to protect against claims. However, there can be no assurance that it will be sufficient to cover potential claims or that present levels of coverage will be available in the future at reasonable cost. Further, we expect our insurance costs to increase as we add routes, increase flight, and passenger volumes and expand into new markets. It is too early to determine what impact, if any, the adoption of EVAs will have on our insurance costs.

Blade's Passenger urban air mobility services have grown rapidly since we launched our business in 2014, though it is still relatively new, and it is uncertain to what extent market acceptance will continue to grow, if at all. Further, we currently operate in a limited number of metropolitan areas. The success of these markets to date and the opportunity for future growth in these markets may not be representative of the potential market for urban air mobility in other metropolitan areas. Our success will depend to a substantial extent on regulatory approval and availability of EVA technology, as well as the willingness of commuters and travelers to widely adopt urban air mobility as an alternative for ground transportation. If the public does not perceive urban air mobility as beneficial, or chooses not to adopt urban air mobility as a result of concerns regarding safety, affordability, or for other reasons, then the market for our offerings may not further develop, may develop more slowly than we expect, or may not achieve the growth potential we expect, any of which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. The New York airport transfer market has not been served on a by-the-seat air transportation basis since U.S. Helicopter offered helicopter service in the 2000s. Furthermore, some of the other markets where we plan to expand have never had by-the-seat helicopter services. As a result, the number of potential fliers using our urban air mobility services cannot be predicted with any degree of certainty, and we cannot provide assurance that we will be able to operate in a profitable manner in any of our current or targeted future markets. Our most recent entry into European and Canadian markets presents the risk of limited brand recognition in these regions. As a result, the lack of brand recognition may result in difficulties in gaining and retaining fliers and building partnerships with local entities. In addition, competition in these new markets may be strong, with established players and new entrants offering similar services. The potential intense competition and limited brand recognition could make it difficult for us to establish a strong market position and generate profitable returns. Growth of our business will require significant investments in our infrastructure, technology, and marketing and sales efforts. Historically, cash flow from operations has not been sufficient to support these needs. If our business does not generate the level of available cash flow required to support these investments, our results of operations will be negatively affected. Further, our ability to effectively manage growth and expansion of our operations will also require us to enhance our operational systems, internal controls and infrastructure, human resources policies, and reporting systems. These enhancements will require significant capital expenditures and allocation of valuable management and employee resources.

We generate a substantial portion of our revenue from the sale of air transportation. Our success depends, in part, on our ability to cost-effectively attract new fliers, retain existing fliers, and increase utilization of our platform by existing fliers. Historically, we have made, and expect that we will need to continue to make, significant investments and implement strategic initiatives in order to attract new fliers, such as flier acquisition campaigns and the launching of new scheduled routes. For example, for the years ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, selling and marketing costs represented approximately 5% and 6% of our revenues, respectively. These investments and initiatives may not be effective in generating sales growth or profits. In addition, marketing campaigns can be expensive and may not result in the acquisition of additional fliers in a cost-effective manner, if at all. As our brand becomes more widely known, future marketing campaigns or brand content may not attract new fliers at the same rate as past campaigns or brand content. If we are unable to attract new fliers, our business, financial condition, and results of operations will be adversely affected. Our fliers have a wide variety of options for transportation, including business aviation, commercial airlines, private aircraft operators, personal vehicles, rental cars, taxis, public transit, and ride-sharing offerings. To expand our flier base, we must appeal to new fliers who have historically used other forms of transportation. If fliers do not perceive our urban air mobility services to be reliable, safe, and cost-effective, or if we fail to offer new and relevant services and features on our platform, we may not be able to attract or retain fliers or increase their utilization of our platform. If we fail to continue to grow our flier base, retain existing fliers, or increase the overall utilization of our platform, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our success depends, in part, on our ability to protect our proprietary intellectual property rights, including certain technologies we utilize in arranging air transportation. To date, we have relied primarily on trade secrets and trademarks to protect our proprietary technology. Our software is also subject to certain protection under copyright law, though we have chosen not to register any of our copyrights. We routinely enter into non-disclosure agreements with our employees, consultants, third party aircraft operators, and other relevant persons and take other measures to protect our intellectual property rights, such as limiting access to our trade secrets and other confidential information. We intend to continue to rely on these and other means, including patent protection, in the future. However, the steps we take to protect our intellectual property may be inadequate, and unauthorized parties may attempt to copy aspects of our intellectual property or obtain and use information that we regard as proprietary and, if successful, may potentially cause us to lose market share, harm our ability to compete, and result in reduced revenue. Moreover, our non- disclosure agreements do not prevent our competitors from independently developing technologies that are substantially equivalent or superior to our products, and there can be no assurance that our competitors or third parties will comply with the terms of these agreements, or that we will be able to successfully enforce such agreements or obtain sufficient remedies if they are breached. There can be no assurance that the intellectual property rights we own or license will provide competitive advantages or will not be challenged or circumvented by our competitors. Further, obtaining and maintaining patent, copyright, and trademark protection can be costly, and we may choose not to, or may fail to, pursue or maintain such forms of protection for our technology in the United States or foreign jurisdictions, which could harm our ability to maintain our competitive advantage in such jurisdictions. It is also possible that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our technology before it is too late to obtain patent protection, that we will be unable to devote the resources to file and prosecute all patent applications for such technology, or that we will inadvertently lose protection for failing to comply with all procedural, documentary, payment, and similar obligations during the patent prosecution process. The laws of some countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States, and mechanisms for enforcement of intellectual property rights in some foreign countries may be inadequate to prevent other parties from infringing our proprietary technology. To the extent we expand our international activities,our exposure to unauthorized use of our technologies and proprietary information may increase. We may also fail to detect unauthorized use of our intellectual property, or be required to expend significant resources to monitor and protect our intellectual property rights, including engaging in litigation, which may be costly, time-consuming, and divert the attention of management and resources, and may not ultimately be successful. If we fail to meaningfully establish, maintain, protect, and enforce our intellectual property rights, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our systems, or those of third parties upon which we rely, may experience service interruptions, outages, or degradation because of hardware and software defects or malfunctions, human error, or malfeasance by third parties or our employees, contractors, or service providers, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires, natural disasters, power losses, disruptions in telecommunications services, fraud, military or political conflicts, terrorist attacks, cyberattacks, or other events. Our insurance may not be sufficient, and we may not have sufficient remedies available to us from our third-party service providers, to cover all of our losses that may result from such interruptions, outages, or degradation. The software underlying our platform is highly complex and may contain undetected errors or vulnerabilities, some of which may only be discovered after the code has been released. We rely heavily on a software engineering practice known as "continuous deployment," which refers to the frequent release of our software code, sometimes multiple times per day. This practice increases the risk that errors and vulnerabilities are present in the software code underlying our platform. The third-party software that we incorporate into our platform may also be subject to errors or vulnerabilities. Any errors or vulnerabilities discovered in our platform, whether in our proprietary code or that of third-party software on which our software relies, could result in negative publicity, a loss of users or loss of revenue, access or other performance issues, security incidents, or other liabilities. Such vulnerabilities could also prevent fliers from booking flights, which would adversely affect our flier utilization rates, or disrupt communications with our operators (e.g., flight schedules or passenger manifests), which could affect our on-time performance. For example, we have experienced an error in our app that temporarily allowed a small number of users to log into and view a different user's profile. Although we quickly corrected the error after receiving user complaints, with no material adverse impact to our business, similar and more serious errors could occur in the future. We may need to expend significant financial and development resources to analyze, correct, eliminate, or work around errors or defects or to address and eliminate vulnerabilities. Any failure to timely and effectively resolve any such errors, defects, or vulnerabilities could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations as well as negatively impact our reputation or brand. We have experienced and will likely continue to experience system failures and other events or conditions from time to time that interrupt the availability or reduce or affect the speed or functionality of our technology platform. These events have resulted in, and similar future events could result in, losses of revenue due to increased difficulty of booking services through our technology platform, impacts to on-time performance, and resultant errors in operating our business. A prolonged interruption in the availability or reduction in the availability or other functionality of our platform could adversely affect our business and reputation and could result in the loss of customers. Moreover, to the extent that any system failure or similar event results in harm or losses to customers, such as the inability to book flights or monitor organ transports because of a system failure, we may make voluntary payments to compensate for such harm, or the affected customers could seek monetary recourse or contractual remedies from us for their losses. Such claims, even if unsuccessful, would likely be time consuming and costly for us to address.

We are subject to a wide variety of laws and regulations relating to various aspects of our business, employment and labor, health care, tax, privacy and data security, health and safety, and environmental issues. Laws and regulations at the foreign, federal, state, and local levels frequently change, especially in relation to new and emerging industries, and we cannot always reasonably predict the impact from, or the ultimate cost of compliance with, current or future legal or regulatory changes. We monitor these developments and devote a significant amount of management's time and external resources towards compliance. Moreover, changes in law, the imposition of new or additional regulations or the enactment of any new or more stringent legislation that impacts our business could require us to change the way we operate or limit our ability to expand into certain jurisdictions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results. Further, our business has been adversely impacted when government agencies have ceased to operate as expected including due to partial shut-downs or similar events. These events have resulted in, among other things, reduced demand for air travel, an actual or perceived reduction in air traffic control and security screening resources, and related travel delays, as well as disruption in the ability of the FAA to grant required regulatory approvals, such as those that are involved when a new aircraft is first placed into service. United States. Our operations are highly regulated by several U.S. government regulatory agencies, including the DOT and the FAA. These requirements restrict the ways we may conduct our business, as well as the operations of our third-party aircraft operators. Failure to comply with such requirements in the future may result in fines and other enforcement actions by the regulators. In the future, any new regulatory requirements, particularly requirements that limit our third-party aircraft operators' ability to operate, could have a material adverse effect on us and the industry. Further, DOT and FAA rules require certain disclosures to consumers and filing of routes, which could create a burden on our marketing and operations teams. Our results of operations and the manner in which we conduct business may be affected by changes in law and future actions taken by governmental agencies, including: - changes in law that affect the services that can be offered by us in particular markets and at particular airports, or the types of fares offered or fees that can be charged to fliers;- restrictions on competitive practices (for example, court orders, or agency regulations or orders, that would curtail our ability to respond to a competitor);- the adoption of new passenger security standards or regulations that impact customer service standards;- restrictions on airport operations, such as restrictions on the use of airports or heliports; and - the adoption of more restrictive locally-imposed noise restrictions. Each additional regulation or other form of regulatory oversight increases costs and adds greater complexity to operations and, in some cases, may reduce the demand for air travel. There can be no assurance that the increased costs or greater complexity associated with our compliance with new rules, anticipated rules or other forms of regulatory oversight will not have a material adverse effect on us. Any significant reduction in air traffic capacity at and in the airspace serving key airports in the United States or overseas could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Weaknesses in the National Airspace System and the Air Traffic Control ("ATC") system, such as outdated procedures and technologies, have resulted in short-term capacity constraints during peak travel periods or adverse weather conditions in certain markets, resulting in delays and disruptions of air traffic. Outdated technologies may also cause the ATC system to be less resilient in the event of a failure. For example, an automation failure and an evacuation, in 2015 and 2017 respectively, at the Washington Air Route Control Center resulted in cancellations and delays of hundreds of flights traversing the greater Washington, D.C. airspace. Canada. Our Canadian operations are subject to strict regulations imposed by various Canadian government agencies, including Transport Canada and Nav Canada. These regulations impose restrictions on the way we conduct our business, as well as the activities of our third-party aircraft operators. Non-compliance with these regulations may result in fines or other enforcement actions taken by the relevant authorities. Any new regulations in the future, especially those that limit the operational abilities of our third-party aircraft operators, may significantly impact our business and the industry. Additionally, Transport Canada and Nav Canada regulations require specific disclosures to consumers and the filing of flight routes, which may pose a challenge for our marketing and operational teams. France. Our French operations are subject to strict regulation by government agencies in the country, including the DGAC and the Autorité de la Concurrence. Non-compliance with these regulations or any concerns raised by these agencies could result in administrative, civil, or criminal penalties for our French operations. Furthermore, we may face regulatory actions that could disrupt, limit, or alter its operations in France, negatively impacting our business, financial stability, and performance in the country. India. The Indian Joint Venture's operations are highly regulated by Indian government agencies, including the Airports Authority of India, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Directorate General of Civil Aviation. If the Indian Joint Venture's operations fail to comply with these laws and regulations, or if these agencies develop concerns over our operations, the Indian Joint Venture could face administrative, civil, and/or criminal penalties. In addition, we may become subject to regulatory actions that could suspend, curtail, or significantly modify the Indian Joint Venture's operations, which could adversely affect the business, financial condition, and results of operations of the Indian Joint Venture. Monaco. Our Monégasque operations are also subject to a complex and constantly changing regulatory landscape, which may result in increased costs, disruptions to operations, limitations on the company's flexibility to operate, decreased demand for air travel, and potentially significant competitive disadvantages. These laws and regulations imposed by relevant government agencies in the country, such as the Direction de l'Aviation Civile de Monaco and other regulatory bodies, could have a negative impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations in Monaco. Failure to comply with legal and regulatory requirements, such as obtaining and maintaining licenses, certificates, authorizations, and permits critical for the operation of our business, may result in civil penalties or private lawsuits, or the suspension or revocation of licenses, certificates, authorizations, or permits, which would prevent us from operating our business. Even when we believe we are in complete compliance, a regulatory agency may determine that we are not.

We are subject to a wide variety of laws in the United States and other jurisdictions related to privacy, data protection, and consumer protection that are often complex and subject to varying interpretations. As a result, these privacy, data protection, and consumer protection laws may change or develop over time through judicial decisions or as new guidance or interpretations are provided by regulatory and governing bodies and such changes or developments may be contrary to our existing practices. This may cause us to expend resources on updating, changing, or eliminating some of our privacy and data protection practices. Laws and regulations relating to privacy and data protection are continually evolving and subject to potentially differing interpretations. These requirements may not be harmonized, may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another, or may conflict with other rules or our practices. As a result, our practices may not have complied or may not comply in the future with all such laws, regulations, requirements, and obligations. The failure to comply with such data protection and privacy regulations can result in fines, penalties, and the enforcement of any non-compliance, which could significantly impact our business operations. The CPPA provides new data privacy rights for consumers in California and new operational requirements for companies doing business in California. Compliance with the new obligations imposed by the CCPA depends in part on how particular regulators interpret and apply them, and because the CCPA is relatively new, there is still some uncertainty about how the CCPA will be interpreted and enforced. If we fail to comply with the CCPA or if regulators assert that we have failed to comply with the CCPA, we may be subject to certain fines or other penalties (up to $2,500 per violation, or up to $7,500 per violation if the violation is intentional) and litigation, any of which may negatively impact our reputation, require us to expend significant resources, and harm our business. Furthermore, CPRA, which amended and expanded the CCPA, including by providing consumers with additional rights with respect to their personal information took effect applying to information collected by businesses on or after January 1, 2022. We believe that the personal information we collect from California residents that use our app, the air transportation services we have offered in California in the past, and direct marketing to California residents for those services, as well as our plans to offer future services in California, have made and in the future will make Blade subject to compliance with CCPA and CPRA. Moreover, as we offer and advertise our services in Europe, Canada, and Monaco, it is important to acknowledge the impact of privacy regulations in these foreign jurisdictions which we are subject to. The GDPR, PIPEDA, and DPA are known for their stringent requirements and can pose significant challenges for companies to comply with. Complying with such privacy regulations requires increased expenditure in human and financial resources which may negatively impact the financial conditions of our foreign operations. We have in the past, and could be in the future, subject to data breaches. A significant data breach or any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with any federal, state, or foreign privacy laws, regulations, or other principles or orders to which we may be subject could adversely affect our reputation, brand, and business, and may result in claims, investigations, proceedings, or actions against us by governmental entities, litigation, including class action litigation, from our fliers, fines, penalties, or other liabilities, or require us to change our operations or cease using certain data sets. Depending on the nature of the information compromised, we may also have obligations to notify users, law enforcement, government authorities, payment companies, consumer reporting agencies, or the media about the incident and may be required to expend additional resources in connection with investigating and remediating such an incident, and otherwise complying with applicable privacy and data security laws.

The COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, along with the measures governments and private organizations worldwide implemented in an attempt to contain its spread, resulted in a severe decline in demand for air travel, including our Short Distance passenger service, and adversely affected our business, operations and financial condition to an unprecedented extent. Measures such as travel restrictions, "shelter in place" and quarantine orders, limitations on public gatherings, cancellation of public events, and many other restrictions resulted in a precipitous decline in demand for business and leisure travel generally during 2020 and the first half of calendar year 2021. Historically our business has been comprised of business travel and commuter traffic, which during the height of the pandemic was largely replaced by "virtual meeting" and teleconferencing products or became unnecessary as a result of the significant number of people now working from home. The full extent of the impact of COVID-19 on our long-term operational and financial performance will depend on future developments, many of which are outside our control, including the emergence of new viral strains that are not responsive to a vaccine, a sustained or increased reduction in business travel in favor of virtual meetings, or a decrease in demand for air travel from the public. At this time, we are not able to predict whether the COVID-19 pandemic will result in permanent adverse changes to our customers' behavior or their demand for our urban air mobility services. Furthermore, future similar public health threats could result in another severe decline in demand for our services and have a material adverse impact on our business, operations and financial condition.