RIDEGURU
This pricing doesn't seem that bad. Getting from Manhattan to JFK can be a nightmare. Helicopter in 8 minutes? Where do I sign. If they bring this to the Boston area I might actually use it.
Starting July 9th, Uber will offer helicopter rides between JFK airport and Lower Manhattan that can be booked on demand through its app. Uber Copter, The New York Times reports, will offer eight minute flights between the city and its major airport, with prices typically costing between $200 and $225. Flights can be booked up to five days in advance.
Comments
Can we just skip this nonsense and go directly to this?
https://ride.guru/lounge/p/airbus-on-demand-helicopters-really-big-drones-kitty-hawk-flyer#!#comment-14035
You'd use it in Boston? The reason it is so attractive in NYC is because it is an island, and there are huge bottlenecks in its bridges. The 8 minute ride can save an hour. Not sure if Boston has anything similar to that.
I absolutely would. It doesn't take an island to create bottlenecks. Getting from a lot of the metrowest suburbs into Boston takes more than an hour during most of the day.
Hanscom airfield is perfectly located smack in the middle of a whole bunch of affluent surburbs and would be a perfect base for this. I'd take a helicopter from Hanscom to Logan to beat sitting in traffic any day.
I saw a thing recently about how there used to be lots of helicopter services from the airports to building tops in manhattan. Pretty neat. But in 1977 there was a crash on top of the Pan Am building, and that was the end of that.
https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/16/may-16-1977-helicopter-accident-on-top-of-pan-am-building-kills-five/
It's happening again. The overreaction:
New York congresswoman calls for helicopter ban after fatal crash
https://thehill.com/homenews/news/447841-new-york-congresswoman-calls-for-ban-after-fatal-helicopter-crash-landing
It's silly. Helicopters are really reliable.
That sounds sarcastic, but perhaps because they actually are more dangerous other modes of air transportation.
I had to google it. They say helicopter is, but there are caveats to both, like how helicopters are more used for risky operations.
Are helicopters more dangerous than airplanes?
Are helicopters more dangerous than cars?
Risky operations? Sounds like a bunch of excuses to me!
They do get shot down quite often in war movies for sure. or those rescue movies (like San Andreas)