NEW
YORK (Reuters) - Ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) is taking
to the air in New York City where users with a little cash to spare will soon
be able to book helicopter flights to John F. Kennedy International airport
through their apps.
The
company announced its Uber Copter offer on Thursday, saying flights to and from
Lower Manhattan will become available to all Uber users on Oct. 3. Uber made
the feature available to its premium members in June.
The
roughly eight-minute flight will cost between $200 and $225 per person and
include ground transportation on either side of the trip. Passengers can bring
along a small suitcase and have to watch a safety video before takeoff, similar
to that on an airplane.
The
flights are operated by HeliFlite Shares, a licensed company, and Uber’s prices
roughly compare to those of competitors offering helicopter rides to JFK.
For
now, Uber rides shuttling passengers to the heliport in Manhattan are only
available from the southern tip of the island.
Uber
says the service is intended to reduce travel times, but when Reuters tried
Copter on Wednesday, a trip from its Midtown office to the airport took 70
minutes, including a subway ride downtown and two Uber rides to and from the
heliport. That’s about the same time it would have taken by regular taxi in
moderate traffic.
An
Uber spokeswoman on Thursday said that trip was not realistic as part of the
commercial rollout, however, as the Copter option is only shown to customers
located in the geofenced Lower Manhattan area.
“Uber
Copter won’t appear as an option in the app if you are outside of the geofence
because it wouldn’t provide time savings,” the spokeswoman said.
But
Uber might gradually expand the Manhattan pick-up zone, said Eric Allison, head
of Elevate, Uber’s aerial ride-hailing program.
“Helicopters
are certainly expensive and it will be a premium product, but we think we’re
actually able to offer a fairly accessible entry point with Uber Copter,”
Allison said during an interview on Wednesday.
JFK
is one of the countTry’s largest airports and car trips from congested
Manhattan can take anywhere from one to two hours, while public transit takes
between 50 and 75 minutes.
With
concerns mounting over congestion and vehicle emissions, Uber hopes its NYC
Copter project will pave the way for Uber Air, a taxi service of electric
“vertical take-off and landing” aircraft.
Source:
https://www.reuters.com
