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Uber Copter now available to users in New York

Posted: 4 October 2019 |

The option is available Monday through Friday during afternoon rush hours for trips between lower Manhattan and JFK International Airport.

Uber Copter available to all users in New York

Credit: Uber

Following trials with select users in New York since July 2019, Uber Copter is now available to all Uber users within a designated operating zone.

If a journey is starting or ending within one of these zones, ‘Copter’ will become an option in the Uber app. The designated zone includes all of Manhattan south of Houston Street and select areas with access to the West Side Highway.

Users can set pick-up and drop-off locations – one in Manhattan and the other at JFK airport – to see Copter’s windows of availability and pricing.

The service includes an Uber ride to the helipad, then an eight-minute helicopter trip, followed by another Uber ride to the airport terminal. Prices start at $200, depending on demand.

“This is our first step to what will become a future Uber Air network,” Eric Allison, head of Uber Elevate, said in a statement.

All flights are operated by Uber partner, HeliFlite, a licensed FAA/DOT direct air carrier. Heliflite operates twin-engine, dual-piloted aircraft and all of their pilots are instrument-rated.

A safety management system (SMS) has been implemented for Uber Copter. The system employs a data-driven approach to accident prevention by incorporating trend analysis and robust hazard reporting. The Federal Aviation Administration currently requires SMS’s for the airline industry, but not for on-demand helicopter charter operators and HeliFlite already has an established SMS in place for its operations.

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