US Helicopter

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US Helicopter is an independent air shuttle service that operates regularly scheduled helicopter flights between the Downtown Manhattan Heliport at the East River foot of Wall Street at Pier 6 in Manhattan and American Airlines facilities at JFK International Airport's Terminal 9 in Queens. The flights last eight minutes and cost $159 each way. Flights are offered on weekdays from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, with service on the hour to JFK and back to the Heliport at half past the hour.

The fleet consists of four 8-seat Sikorsky S-76 dual engine helicopters with first class-style executive interiors, each operated by two pilots. US Helicopter is the only scheduled helicopter airline service in the United States certified by both the United States Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Downtown Manhattan Heliport was the first heliport in the United States to be certified for scheduled passenger helicopter service by the FAA. The soundproof terminal contains gift shops, administrative offices, a VIP lounge and general passenger waiting area, as well as X-ray and bomb-detection machines at a security checkpoint.

Passengers traveling via American Airlines and departing from JFK's Terminal 9, are checked-in at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport, where they obtain boarding passes and baggage receipts to their final destination. These passengers remain in secure areas, eliminating the need to go through customary airport security at JFK. Passengers traveling with other airlines proceed to AirTrain JFK or ground transportation at JFK to connect to the appropriate terminal to complete the check-in process and proceed through security to their flight gate.

Working with the air traffic control and the FAA, the helicopters operate on special dedicated flight paths between the heliport and airport, flying over mainly residential and commercial areas of Brooklyn and Southwest Queens, thereby avoiding the flight paths into JFK used by commercial planes.

The company started service in June 2006 from Bridgeport, Connecticut to the Downtown Heliport. Plans are to add service to the East 34th Street Heliport by early September 2006, to LaGuardia Airport by October 2006 and to Newark Liberty International Airport around November 2006. US Helicopter plans to expand the service to ten other cities nationwide, including Chicago, Illinois, Los Angeles, California and Washington, D.C.^[1]

As of December 2006, US Helicopter is adding service between the Downtown Heliport and Newark Liberty International Airport. 12 flights in each direction will be offered daily for the eight-minute flight, which will operate from a secured area at Gate 71 in Continental Airlines' Terminal C^[2]