Helicopter service from downtown Manhattan to JFK is back!

by Annie Scott on

US Helicopter Corporation will be resuming its scheduled services between the Downtown Manhattan Heliport near Wall Street, JFK International Airport, and Newark (EWR) as of March 27, 2009.

US Helicopter Corporation is partnered with Delta and Continental Airlines to offer superior service to their guests. According to Fox Business:

“US Helicopter’s scheduled service affords business travelers countless hours of saved time and a hassle free airport commute. Passengers check-in, receive their boarding pass, check baggage and clear TSA security screening through to their final destination(1), all at the heliport. They then board the luxury aircrafts and enjoy an eight-minute flight, along with the spectacular sites of the Manhattan skyline and avoiding long lines upon their arrival at the airport.”

Not too shabby! And not just for the elite! A one-way flight can be as low as $159.00. Visit www.flyush.com for more information.

Nail a hog from on high

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Mertzon, TX is taking hunting to a new level. If law proposed by Rep. Sid Miller is passed, you’ll be able to jump on a helicopter and take pot shots at wild hogs … if you have a permit.

Lock and load! Grab a rifle or shotgun, set the rotors in motion.

These hogs have been causing plenty of property damage across Texas. Not only are they tearing up crops on farms, they’re now uprooting golf course turf and disrupting the lives of suburban Texans. An estimated 2 million wild hogs cause $52 million in crop damage, so there is a serious side to this story.

If the new law can make it through the legislature, it will be the first of its kind in the United States. A handful of other states (such as Alaska) do allow aerial hunting, but only to keep predators, like wolves, at bay. Pigs, it seems, don’t have any natural predators. They can even kick some coyote ass.

So, death will have to come from above. A lot of people are doing this.

Lat year, 1,100 hog-killing permits were issued, up from 201 in 2000. If Texans can start busting caps from on high, the number could go higher. Of course, there’s always someone with a gripe. Jay Smith, owner of Smith Helicopters in Cotulla, TX, says, “If they’re going to open up to where you can do this and anybody who’s got a helicopter can go off to an old boy’s place and hunt, that’s going to be bad.” Hell, the rancher’s dog might get iced!

Fortunately, Rep. Miller has promised that the hunting would be closely regulated (bound to piss off the gun nuts), though he hasn’t put together many of the details yet.

Once the wrinkles are ironed out, book that trip to Texas. You’ve always wanted to go, and now you have the perfect reason: hittin’ hogs from a helicopter!

[Via Pocono Record, photo via Beard Papa]

New York: Fly on US Helicopter for cheap this fall

by Grant Martin on

If you’ve been itching to get onto one of those nifty US Helicopter shuttles between Manhattan and the airport, you’re in luck: fall fares are on sale and they’re putting prices dangerously close to affordable.

From the usual $120-150 range that the tickets normally reside in, US Helicopter is running a special where you can get a one way ticket between Newark or JFK into Manhattan for only $100. Sure the taxi from JFK is only $40 and the PATH NJ Transit train from Jersey is much less, but those connections can take take over an hour and hey, if you’re late for a meeting you have to get into the city.

I am nearly tempted to jump on a US Helicopter flight this afternoon from Newark into the city — but for now am holding onto my pocketbook. Maybe once I land in Jersey and get my drinking pants on I’ll change my mind.

Newark/JFK to Manhattan via Helicopter for $99

by Justin Glow on

How much does it cost to take a cab from JFK or Newark to Manhattan these days?

US Helicopter — an “8-Minute Airport Shuttle” — says it’s a cool $60, but that seems pretty high. Regardless, the company is offering a helicopter ride from either JFK or Newark for only $99 one way, which seems pretty fair considering regular helicopter tours of Manhattan can cost almost $200 per person for less than 20 minutes. So if you’re planning on taking a pricey helicopter tour of NYC anyway, why not kill two birds with one stone and get yourself from the airport to your hotel in style?

The $99 is a sale price which lasts until October 31st, when the fee will get bumped back up to $159.

Helicopter…or UFO?

by Willy Volk on

I’ve ridden in two helicopters: once over Vic Falls and once over the Grand Canyon. Helicopters are a great way to see large chasms like these, because when you’re inside the chasms — or peering over their edges — you can’t fathom their enormity. However, each time I flew in a chopper, the blades rotated like mad, churning the air, and whipping up sand like crazy.

So…how can this helicopter fly?

[Via Digg]