- Title: Uber Copter takes off from Manhattan to JFK
- Date: 3rd October 2019
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 2, 2019) (REUTERS) PILOT OPENING DOORS TO UBER COPTER PILOT IN UBER COPTER PILOTS FLYING UBER COPTER VIEW FROM UBER COPTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) UBER ELEVATE HEAD, ERIC ALLISON, SAYING: "Yes. So, we are... you know, we look at where there's demand. We do a lot of trips to the airport from Manhattan right now. And, so, we know that there's there's a lot of demand to get from Manhattan to JFK and back - both ways. And so, we think this is a perfect opportunity to really provide value to our riders in a way to get to JFK even faster than they can now. And so, we think that it will be... it will certainly... Helicopters are kind of... they're expensive, and, so, it's going to be a premium product, but we think we're actually able to offer a fairly accessible entry point with this. It's going to cost $200-225 one way to take a flight, to take this this trip. And, but we're really excited to be able to offer this to all of our, all of our riders now, who really need to save time going - or just want a great view - going from Manhattan to JFK." VARIOUS OF UBER COPTER ON PIER (SOUNDBITE) (English) UBER ELEVATE HEAD, ERIC ALLISON, SAYING: "So, we really see Uber Copter as paving the way for this future vision that we have for Uber Air. So, for a truly scalable product that can be accessible to a wide range of people and operate in a more diverse set of routes, we think we need a new class of vehicles that are all electric. And with all-electric vehicles, we can operate in a very environmentally-friendly way, and at the same time have lower operating costs, and be quieter. So Uber copper is just gonna be, it will be limited. We're offering this on a single route right now. It's really building the learnings for this future product that we think will really be transformation on the way people can move around." VARIOUS FROM INTERIOR OF UBER COPTER AS IT FLIES OVER MANHATTAN (SOUNDBITE) (English) UBER GENERAL MANAGER OF AVIATION, ANIL NATHAN, SAYING: "Yeah, so, I think, in this in this overall kind of end-to-end product for Uber Air, what we're focused on is what we do really well, which is operations and technology. And so, creating the platform of this multi-modal service that connects you from, you know, the first mile car, or whatever that might be, getting to the sky port in the future or the heliport now, that flight portion, and then the last part of it, we're getting from that last-mile heliport or sky port to your final destination, we're the ones who can kind of pull all of that together, and we're uniquely positioned as Uber to, basically, solve that really complex problem." VARIOUS OF PILOTS AND HELICOPTER STAFF WITH UBER COPTER
- Embargoed: 17th October 2019 15:50
- Keywords: Uber Technologies helicopter flights John F. Kennedy International airport Uber Copter transportation HeliFlite
- Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Company News Markets,Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA001AZJO3T3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Ride-hailing company Uber Technologies is taking to the air in New York City where users with a little cash to spare will soon be able to book helicopter flights to John F. Kennedy International airport through their apps.
The company announced its Uber Copter offer on Thursday (October 3), saying flights to and from Lower Manhattan will become available to all Uber users on Oct. 3. Uber made the feature available to its premium members in June.
The roughly eight-minute flight will cost between $200 and $225 per person and include ground transportation on either side of the trip. Passengers can bring along a small suitcase and have to watch a safety video before takeoff, similar to that on an airplane.
The flights are operated by HeliFlite Shares, a licensed company, and Uber's prices roughly compare to those of competitors offering helicopter rides to JFK.
(Production: Hussein Waaile, Tina Bellon, Aleksandra Michalska) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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