New York’s only scheduled helicopter shuttle service is no more, at least for now.
U.S. Helicopter abruptly suspended scheduled and charter operations in September after three-and-a-half years of providing scheduled shuttle service between the Downtown Manhattan Heliport (Wall Street) or the East 34th Street Heliport and either Newark Liberty or Kennedy International Airports. One-way fares for the eight-minute flight in a Sikorsky S-76B averaged $159. U.S. Helicopter was the first scheduled helicopter service in Manhattan since the 1980s.
A spokesman told AIN that the decision was not a precursor to bankruptcy, but merely a necessary move as the company attempts to secure additional financing for operations. However, U.S. Helicopter has been relying on short-term, high-interest loans to finance ongoing operations and flights often had light passenger loads.
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