Uber will begin offering helicopter rides next month — but only for certain users, and for now, just to one location.
The company will roll out Uber Copter in New York on July 9, making it available to Platinum and Diamond members of the Uber Rewards program, The New York Times reports. Specifically, users will be able to catch a flight from Lower Manhattan near the Staten Island Ferry to Kennedy International Airport.
That's about an eight-minute flight, the Times notes, and Uber says tickets will cost between $200 and $225 per person, although the pricing will depend on demand, just like regular Uber rides. That also includes a car ride before and after the flight, with users being driven to the airport terminal. Users can make reservations five days in advance, and the flights will be operated by the helicopter charter company HeliFlite. These rides will be ordered through the regular Uber app.
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A travel network managing director noted to the Times that this is "likely to be popular with executives and super wealthy travelers," but that might be about it for now, considering it would cost a family of four $800 just to get to the airport using Uber Copter.
Uber says it plans to eventually bring Uber Copter to other cities after this New York launch. Previously, the company announced plans to roll out an air taxi service as part of a division called Uber Elevate, saying in 2018 these flights could arrive as soon as 2020. This program isn't that, exactly; Uber Copter just uses normal helicopters and not the air taxi prototype Uber has been developing, for instance. But the head of Uber Elevate told Engadget Uber Copter is "the first real demonstration of the Elevate experience."
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