Late For Your Flight? Just Take the Chopper
April 12, 2006 — -- Are midlevel American business people ready to pay for the same travel convenience and luxury that Donald Trump and other moguls enjoy? One New York startup is banking on it.
US Helicopter, headed by former Pan Am Airways executive Jerry Murphy, launched daily, scheduled helicopter flights between Manhattan's Downtown Heliport and JFK International Airport in March. It's the first-scheduled helicopter service to shuttle passengers between Manhattan and a local airport in more than a decade, and it's the only service of its kind operating in the United States.
The company has gambled that business travelers will be willing to pay a bit extra to avoid long car drives to the airport, and to have the convenience of checking in quickly at the heliport rather than enduring long airport lines. And the ride takes only eight minutes.
"One of the biggest problems a business person on a business trip has is how long it takes to get to the airport and how that can limit their time and work," said Murphy, US Helicopter's president and CEO. "If you can provide a one-stop check in and get them to the airport quickly, you've removed a big variable."
Travelers leaving Manhattan pay an introductory fee of $139 for a one-way ticket. The price will climb to $159 in May. Taxi service from Manhattan ranges from $50 to $60, and hired cars typically cost around $80 to $100.
US Helicopter customers are screened by TSA security at the heliport, and those departing JFK on American Airlines flights can check their baggage through to a final destination at the heliport. It's part of a partnership between US Helicopter and American, and the company hopes to set up similar arrangements with other major carriers. Passengers flying other airlines must leave the security area of the American terminal and go through security a second time to get to their gates.
There are plans to expand service to LaGuardia and Newark airports by the end of the year. Currently, the company has three helicopters in service, with one making the round-trip flight every hour and another on standby. Two more 'copters will be in service by May, and a total of eight by the end of the year, the company says.
