Chopper Flights Face Higher Costs

When the events of Sept. 11 halted all air travel in the United States for several days, including helicopter flights to and from New York City, many business travelers were left without the convenient travel option helicopters provide.

Since that time, most helicopter operators that serve New York have had to scramble to adjust to a significant decrease in business and sharply rising costs, but at least one company contends that it's still business as usual.

The bottom line remains that when business travelers need to get as fast as possible to and from New York's three major airports—JFK, LaGuardia and Newark International, as well as into and out of local and regional airports, such as Teterboro in New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York—they still have the option to choose from several companies that operate on-demand helicopter flights. The flights may be booked as needed, since there is no regularly scheduled helicopter service to and from New York-area airports.

"Even though our business was affected dramatically initially by the events of Sept. 11, we have gotten back on track quickly, still flying about 100 passengers a month to and from New York's airports and to a number of cities between Boston and Washington," said Patrick Day, director of charter marketing for Liberty Helicopters located at Linden Airport in Linden, N.J. "Helicopters still provide a fast, reliable, hassle-free mode of transportation that business travelers demand," Day said.

Liberty's flat rates from New York's heliports to its area airports range from $700 to $1,200, Day said. Hourly rates are $1,000, $1,200 and $1,600, depending on the type of helicopter used. Hourly waiting charges are $150 and $200, again depending on the type of helicopter.

"Business travelers balance the relatively high cost of helicopter service, compared with other types of transportation, against the speed and convenience they receive," Day said.

Another company that operates helicopter flights to and from New York's three major airports, and Teterboro and to points in the Northeast within a three-hour flight of New York, is Helicopter Flight Services of New York. "While we still work with local businesses and with ones that have international clients, our business is down about 50 percent since Sept. 11. People are still on edge about flying," said spokesperson Kathleen Wiig.

"We now fly only about 20 corporate passengers a week and there is now also a restriction that prohibits all flights within a 2.5-nautical mile radius of ground zero. Even though we've applied for and received an exemption, at certain times the restriction still applies, which makes flying more difficult and harder to get passengers to and from that area," Wiig said.

The one-way flat rate from the New York-area airports to Manhattan is $750 per person. "Because rising costs, including increased landing fees at New York's heliports, have made our operation much more expensive, we only fly now when we have a minimum of four people. Before Sept. 11, we always flew with just two," Wiig added.

Passengers now must show photo ID and pass through metal detectors at the heliports, Wiig continued. Liberty and Helicopter Flights Services use the West 30th Street and East 34th Street heliports, as well as the Downtown Manhattan Heliport.

Sept. 11 had a devastating impact on business, said Michael Renz, president of Analar Corp. Helicopter Services, which also offers service to New York from its base at Princeton Airport in Princeton, N.J. "We have lost 40 percent of our business and also literally lost customers who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center," he said. "We have had to increase our rates to cover rising costs, including insurance coverage, which went up 100 percent.

"The airspace restriction around ground zero can be imposed at any time, for example, when a visiting dignitary is there, which can make customer service extremely difficult," Renz added. "We are hopeful business will improve by May, a time when more meetings are held in the city."

Service from Princeton to Manhattan's East Side heliport takes 20 minutes and costs about $800 per charter, Renz said.

Among the city's heliports is the 84,000-sq.-ft. Downtown Manhattan Heliport, located at Pier 6.

"Before Sept. 11, the heliport was one of the busiest in the city. There were 1,562 takeoffs and landings here in January 2001, for example, but only 574 in January 2002," said Brenda Bunche, manager of the heliport. "For known and unknown reasons, there simply aren't as many people booking helicopters since Sept. 11," she said.

Helicopters can land only at the downtown heliport and at other designated heliports in the city, according to Bunche: "New York City has a regulation, actually it's more of a recommendation, that helicopters not fly over the city's air space to land on the tops of buildings, except in emergency situations. While helicopters do fly over the city, the regulation now is being more strictly enforced through tighter security measures."