NEW YORK -- A new
airline company is planning to bring back scheduled helicopter
shuttles linking Manhattan heliports with Kennedy, LaGuardia and
Newark airports early next year, at fares as low as $99 one way.
US Helicopter
Corp., a publicly traded company led by airline industry veterans,
received Transportation Dept. approval Nov. 1 to operate the
service. Donal McSullivan, the companys senior vice president
responsible for marketing, said US Helicopter expects to start
operations in early 2006 but has not set a specific
date.
McSullivan isnt
saying much else for now, other than all bookings would be made via
the air carriers Web site, but US Helicopter did provide some of
the details in its application for DOT approval.
For example, the company
said it would first launch service to Kennedy from Lower Manhattan
and East 34th Street heliports. It would add service to Newark
after about three months and to LaGuardia after about
six.
The company said
it also would offer service from a heliport at West 30th Street,
although it didnt say when.
Assuming the New
York service is successful, US Helicopter told the DOT it plans to
launch similar airport services in Washington, in the companys
second year of operations and in Chicago and Los Angeles in its
third.
Partnerships in the air
Long-term
expansion plans include scheduled service in 10 U.S. markets and
four international markets, it told the DOT.
The company also
told the DOT it plans to have code-sharing and fare-sharing
alliances with major airlines.
New York has not
had regularly scheduled airport transfers by helicopter for many
years, but operators such as NY Airways, LA Airways, Chicago
Airways and Pan Am flew scheduled service helicopters in major
metropolitan areas between the 1950s and 1980s, US Helicopter
noted.
In the late
1970s, NY Airways moved more than 400,000 passengers annually, it
added.
Competition for ground
transport
US Helicopter
told the DOT that those services were hindered by poor aircraft
reliability and frequent groundings for inclement weather. But it
said newer helicopters are more reliable and less expensive to
operate.
Also, US
Helicopter said increased congestion on major metropolitan area
highways, particularly on routes to airports, has travelers looking
for alternatives.
Promising a
travel time of 10 minutes, the company said its service represents
the future of transportation in major metropolitan
areas.
US Helicopter
said it also will offer metropolitan transfer, summer vacation,
casino and regional reliever service. But it expects its airport
shuttle service, offering up to 12 flights a day, to be its bread
and butter.
It would be
competing against rail, bus, taxi and limo service, but the company
said its price -- starting at $99 -- would compare favorably. 
For example, it
said a taxi from Manhattan to Kennedy costs about $50, and limo
service between the same two points costs $75 to $110.
US Helicopter
also believes its service will appeal to time- and line-sensitive
travelers because its customers will be security screened before
boarding the helicopter. Their flight will take them to a secure
part of the airport grounds, which means they will be able to
proceed to their flight without any more screening, it
said.
US Helicopter
plans to use twin-engine Sikorsky S76B helicopters, configured for
two pilots and nine passengers.
The company told
the DOT it would start service with three helicopters, with one
used as a backup and gradually expand its fleet.
It also said it
planned an eventual upgrade to 12-passenger equipment.
US Helicopters
president and CEO is Jerry Murphy, who was president and CEO of
Kiwi International Airlines, a Newark-based carrier, from 1995 to
1998. He also worked in senior positions at MGM Grand Air and Pan
Am and was president of his own consulting firm from 1999 to
2003.
Its COO is
Terence Dennison, who has more than 40 years of experience in the
air transportation industry, including stints as COO of Tower Air
from 2000 to 2002 and Sunworld International Airlines from 1995 to
1997.
To contact
reporter Andrew Compart, send e-mail to [email protected].