The picture above was taken a couple weeks ago when I tried out Delta's new helicopter service to JFK. Here's the story:
U.S. HELICOPTER & DELTA
Delta arranged for me to try out their new helicopter service to and from JFK. It's operated by U.S. Helicopter, which used to offer it for American Airlines (
here's that funny story I wrote two years ago). U.S. Helicopter is also partnered with Continental for passengers going to/from Newark.
WALL STREET HELIPORT
As everyone knows, getting to JFK can be a complete nightmare – you just never know how good or bad traffic will be and though AirTrain is inexpensive, it's a chore to navigate while lugging baggage. Well, thanks to U.S. Helicopter, nothing could possibly be any easier. U.S. Helicopter flies out of two NYC Heliports: East 34th Street (TSS) and
Wall Street (JRB). To get to the latter, I jumped on the 5 Train from Grand Central (I could also have taken the 4 Train) and got off at the Wall Street stop. I walked six blocks
through the
heart of the
money capital until I reached the river and then walked two blocks to the
heliport. I had two small bags so it was easy but taking a taxi would have been even easier.
NYC TO JFK VIA HELICOPTER
At the
heliport I
checked in for my Delta flight to Los Angeles. It took 20 seconds and checking a bag would've added another 10 seconds. I then cleared what has to be the commercial aviation world's most secret, stress-free security checkpoint. There was no one around in the small building except for the two
girls who checked me in and the three TSA agents working the
checkpoint. Here, they have all the same safety measures as at an airport: laptops out, shoes off, no liquids ... except that everyone was relaxed and there was no tension in the air.
THINGS TO DO AND SEE IN NYCEIGHT MINUTES TO JFK
After I'd put my shoes back on, I could have sat in one of the leather seats in the small but nice
gate area. But I didn't even need to sit down because I arrived 15 minutes before departure so once I cleared security, the other passenger and I had a quick
safety briefing and then were
escorted out to the plush
Sikorsky S-76 dual-engine helicopter, which holds eight passengers and two pilots. The
co-pilot greeted us and gave us another quick safety check, then shut the door. What's interesting about helicopters is that the pilot is on the right-hand side, not on the left like in an airplane. Within seconds, we
were off and
treated to a spectacular view of the New York City skyline and the
Brooklyn Bridge. Even though I'm afraid of heights I didn't have an ounce of fear. Not even sweaty hands. That's how big, stable and
comfortable this thing is. We
arrived at
JFK eight minutes later. That's right – it took just eight minutes! A
shuttle picked us
up and
drove us 300 yards to
Delta's terminal
building. That was it – I was
done. No more security, no more checking in. Talk about a stress-free trip to the airport. And on top of that, my
Delta upgrade went through.BTW: This helicopter service is not just for the super-rich. Prices begin at $159 each way, which is not much more than a premium car service. NOTE: US Helicopter does not operate on weekends, holidays or if there's low visibility. If the weather does get bad at the last minute, they will either refund your money or arrange a car service. To book your ticket, log on to either
Delta.com or
FlyUSHelicopter.com.
VIDEO
Here's a two-minute
Johnny Jet video of my trip on the helicopter and I'm also linking to a
video created by Delta's marketing guru, Brian Rutter. Plus, we also have all the
Johnny Jet videos ever made on YouTube.
NWATagYourBag.com
Check it out! JohnnyJet.com was just featured on CNN (
