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Gotham Air: Manhattan to JFK in 6 minutes for $99

gothamair.com

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Re: Gotham Air: Manhattan to JFK in 6 minutes for $99

#131

Post by TheSpiceIsLife »

larrys wrote: post #67
adevine wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're not the carrier. From the bottom of the page: Gotham Air is not a direct air carrier but rather provides technology and information services enabling consumers to obtain aircraft charter and shared aircraft charter services from FAA certified and DOT registered air carriers who exercise operational control over all flights .

Exactly I've seen a few services like this advertised exactly the same way (WSJ ads some run by former industry execs). Interesting thought that the picture of the heli contradicts that (says "Gotham Air" on the side). That's no small point actually. Gives someone who doesn't read the fine print the idea that they do operate the aircraft. I understand why they do that but it is a bit deceptive.

Wouldn't the livery on that helicopter in the photo just be a form of corporate advertising. Couldn't you paint your aircraft however you want so long as the correct registration / licensing marks are visible?

Re: Gotham Air: Manhattan to JFK in 6 minutes for $99

#134

Post by TheHippo »

fnordfnordfnord wrote: post #88
larrys wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Aircraft capacity is 5 (maybe 6)." Another issue is if they are flying to JFK the idea is you are taking a flight obviously out of JFK. So given that helis are small and weight sensitive I wonder if the app collects that info and/or what the baggage restrictions are.

The pictured helicopter looks like a 407, useful load ~2200 lbs. http://bellhelicopter.com/en_US/Commercial/Bell407GX/1296721...

You are correct. First paragraph of the website:

> A beautiful new Bell 407 helicopter is just minutes away!

Re: Gotham Air: Manhattan to JFK in 6 minutes for $99

#135

Post by TheSpiceIsLife »

ubernostrum wrote: post #121
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

EasyJet exists in Europe you know... You really have to read the fine print of their promotions.

Ryanair, too. They will fly you to $MAJOR_CITY* for just €0.50†! * Where we actually mean "a smaller airport 150km away from that city and you're on your own for getting to it" † Plus €20 ticketing fee, €20 payment-processing fee, €20 boarding-pass issuance fee, €20 checked baggage fee, €20 carry-on baggage fee, €20 fee for no baggage, €20 plane-boarding fee, €20 airport use fee, €20 fee-handling fee and other additi…

You forgot €20 choose a seat - it's €0 if you want a randomly assigned seat but somehow the website mislead me in to clicking it, it took me 20 minutes to get this far in the booking, I'm scared to press the browser back button and I'm so frustrated now I'm blind to the clear and easy method of modifying the my previous selection, if there even is one, because the page changed as soon as I clicked. Maybe the site has a bug, but who wouldn't know it's not like I'm going to call the airline for support on their website. But it's only €20 and this flight is now costing me €400 anyway so it's not even worth my time to sit here for another half hour trying to purchase a ticket- fee.

Re: Gotham Air: Manhattan to JFK in 6 minutes for $99

#136

Post by ghaff »

PhantomGremlin wrote: post #126
RijilV wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does international flight mean 2 full suit cases? Seriously I'm 12 days in on a 14 day business trip across 'the pond' with a half sized roller board and that includes both the work laptop and a personal one, juggling props (hey come'on it's Europe) and running gear. For business I figure if the privatized transport from the airport is 1/2 as long and not silly costs I'll expense it without guilt. At supposedly $…

> Why does international flight mean 2 full suit cases? Certainly 1 full suitcase? Shirts, pants, socks, underwear, perhaps a suit or two, and a pair of extra shoes? I can easily fill a suitcase with that stuff. Do you do laundry on your trip? That would certainly significantly reduce the quantity of clothes required. Now that all airlines are charging per bag (previously all airlines allowed two free bags) it probab…

Take a little jar of soap and wash out the stuff that needs washing out. For a 2 week trip, I'd admittedly typically check luggage though. A lot depends on the details of the trip and the climate.

Re: Gotham Air: Manhattan to JFK in 6 minutes for $99

#137

Post by loucal »

TheSpiceIsLife wrote: post #124
orbitur wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know. I think I'd pay $160 to not sit in traffic for 3 hours, just to wait in an airport/go through security for another 2. That means extra time to get things done before you fly out.

As someone who lives in a city with a population of approximately 100,000 in the greater metro area - Launceston, Tasmania - I'd like to take a moment to reflect on your comment. Google Maps tells me Manhattan to JFK Airport is a 32 kilometre taxi ride and takes three hours, plus it takes two hours to clear security at the airport. I'm a little astounded by those numbers. Five hours to get from the couch at home to t…

There is no way google maps says that takes 3 hours, right now it shows 27min but obviously there is no traffic right now. In order for that trip to take 3 hours you would need a perfect storm of EXTREME traffic, zero knowledge of the city, and no gps to help you navigate. I would be astounded by those numbers too, but they aren't even close to accurate.

Re: Gotham Air: Manhattan to JFK in 6 minutes for $99

#138

Post by mikeash »

matthewsimon wrote: post #127
mikeash wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I checked out the site for Cox, my local cable company. For TV, they advertise $49.99, and above that in smaller letters it says "prices per month for 3 months, starting at." If I click "Find Out More" below the price, which it seems is required to get any details or sign up, it then gives me several plans whose prices are "for 12 months with 2-year service agreement." If I keep poking around I can finally view the t…

... and how much does the price increase in month 25?

That's beyond the contract, so the price is subject to change. I don't have a problem with that. There isn't much I can sign up for today where I know what the price will be two years out. My mortgage qualifies, and that's about it.

In my experience with these things (although I haven't tried with Cox), month 25 is usually when prices go back down, because that's when they might lose you to a competitor.

Re: Gotham Air: Manhattan to JFK in 6 minutes for $99

#139

Post by sokoloff »

jfoutz wrote: post #130
downandout wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that bad though? I'm guessing there are at least hundreds of thousands of helicopter flights in New York annually. ~1 accident per year doesn't sound very dangerous to me. As for the concept, it's Uber for helicopters. As long as there is a need (I don't and would never live in New York so I have no idea what the demand for this is) then it may very well be successful.

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/20... It's hard to compare cars and helicopters. From the article: "Between 2005 and 2009, there was an annual average of 1.44 fatalities (PDF) per 100,000 flying hours in nonmilitary helicopters. Over the same period, there were 13.2 traffic fatalities per 100,000 population in the United States annually. Since the average American spends around 780 hours per…

Assume you used such a service (roundtrip) once per month, and it saved you 40 hours per year.

The annual risk of dying in the helo crash (taking the numbers from above) is 12 minutes flying RT * 12 RT/year = 144 minutes per year / 60 mins/hr * 1.44/100K or a risk of dying of 3.456 per 100K years. (overstated as the figure is fatalities per 100K hours, not fatal accidents per 100K).

The annual risk of dying in a car crash if you took that instead is 240 minutes * 12 RT/yr / 60 mins/hr * 0.017 = 0.816 per 100K years.

Over 50 years, your life expectancy has been shortened by about 12 hours. (This is the math I'm least sure about.)

Over that same 50 years, the helo has saved you 2000 hours of your life, for a net addition of almost months of life (assuming, as I do, you derive no value from the car ride to the airport).

Said differently, each roundtrip saves you about 3 hours of your life, plus gives you a fantastic view of the city on the way...

Re: Gotham Air: Manhattan to JFK in 6 minutes for $99

#140

Post by fnordfnordfnord »

TheHippo wrote: post #134
fnordfnordfnord wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The pictured helicopter looks like a 407, useful load ~2200 lbs. http://bellhelicopter.com/en_US/Commercial/Bell407GX/1296721...

You are correct. First paragraph of the website: > A beautiful new Bell 407 helicopter is just minutes away!

D'oh!
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