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

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

#191

Post by CPLX »

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…

> an annual average of 1.44 fatalities (PDF) per 100,000 flying hours in nonmilitary helicopters.

Big question here of what's being measured. If this includes search and rescue helicopters, fire fighting, weather, and similar, then it's not at all comparable to routine transportation driving.

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

#192

Post by induscreep »

15thandwhatever wrote: post #114
dankohn1 wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did the $159 a few years ago before they shut down. My flight out of JFK was delayed by 2 hours, making the expense seem kind of ridiculous. Also, my flight was in a different terminal, meaning I had to leave and then re-enter security, which also kills the time advantage.

I thought it was pretty clear on their site that they offered the "security transfer" only at certain terminals, for certain airlines. For instance, if you were flying Continental out of Newark, it was great to come in via USH and not have to deal with infrequent flyers at security.

Could you explain what you mean by "deal with infrequent flyers at security"? What exactly do infrequent flyers do wrong?

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

#193

Post by Retric »

sokoloff wrote: post #139
jfoutz wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

A ~2 hour limo ride (presumably the direct alternative) would be far more from zero productivity.

If you really can't use a laptop in a car there is still, getting something to eat, making a phone call, or even just listening to music.

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

#194

Post by saalweachter »

vl wrote: post #163
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.

There is subway line to JFK, why would you be in traffic?

JFK is at the end of a long subway line, with the Air Train between the subway and the airport. Coming from most parts of Manhattan, I would budget 90 minutes to get there via the subway and 45 minutes by taxi.

The subway to JFK is cheaper, but most people who live in Manhattan and can afford to fly semi-regularly are going to spring for a taxi.

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

#195

Post by speik »

vl wrote: post #163
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.

There is subway line to JFK, why would you be in traffic?

Taxi is much easier. If you've got the dough, you're going to take a taxi. It's a flat $45 rate out to JFK as well.

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

#196

Post by theorique »

induscreep wrote: post #192
15thandwhatever wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought it was pretty clear on their site that they offered the "security transfer" only at certain terminals, for certain airlines. For instance, if you were flying Continental out of Newark, it was great to come in via USH and not have to deal with infrequent flyers at security.

Could you explain what you mean by "deal with infrequent flyers at security"? What exactly do infrequent flyers do wrong?

They don't know the security theater procedures so they take longer to go through them and hold up the people behind them (laptop out of bag; liquids, gels, and aerosols in plastic bag; etc).

(That's one of the advantages of TSA PreCheck - not only are there fewer people in line, but the people who are in line are frequent flyers who tend to move fast.)

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

#197

Post by uberdog »

saalweachter wrote: post #194
vl wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is subway line to JFK, why would you be in traffic?

JFK is at the end of a long subway line, with the Air Train between the subway and the airport. Coming from most parts of Manhattan, I would budget 90 minutes to get there via the subway and 45 minutes by taxi. The subway to JFK is cheaper, but most people who live in Manhattan and can afford to fly semi-regularly are going to spring for a taxi.

I would always take LIRR to Jamaica, then Airtrain. Easy peasy, way faster than the subway and only about $20.

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

#198

Post by epc »

mpdehaan2 wrote: post #186
mkopinsky wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The numbers above are an exaggeration. I lived in the north end of manhattan (the part furthest from JFK) and an hour to get to JFK was on the long side - typical is probably 40-80 minutes. It doesn't take two hours to clear security at an airport either - typical is anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes.

Incidentally, Uber direct to JFK is slightly cheaper than a cab too ($45-ish?). You think it would be crazy expensive, but it's flat rate. I'm not sure about from JFK into the city, but I think I was told it was the same. I'm not too big of a fan of the AirTram + Long Island Railway (LIRR) route, which ends up at one of the major train stations, has on outside terminal (not great in the winter and slow with a lot of…

I've become a big fan of the AirTrain + LIRR combo since moving into Manhattan from Brooklyn. Almost always consistently 45-50 minutes from terminal to my apartment in Chelsea. Perfect for rush hour to/from JFK.

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

#199

Post by danielweber »

llimllib wrote: post #188
coldtea wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Once I run the numbers for air travel fatality rates, as compared to car fatality rates but talking into account miles travelled for both (and number of passengers etc), and, assuming I was correct, they came out pretty close.

According to wiki, autos are more than an order of magnitude more dangerous per mile: Air Car Miles driven 40 450 Risk (millionths) 0.60 6.75 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transportation_safety_in_the_U... edit: that was a shallow misreading of the data. But the end concludes that air travel is roughly slightly less than an order of magnitude safer.

90% of the risk in airplane travel is the takeoffs and landings, not the miles travelled. IIRC it came out to each airplane trip was as dangerous as ~30 miles of driving, meaning any trip that is normally offered by an airline is noticeably safer.

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

#200

Post by epc »

krschultz wrote: post #23
drewmate wrote: post #14

So how does this work? Does the helicopter pick you up from your office building? Or do you have to go to their central terminal?

There are at least 3 heliports in the city. There is one no the East River at 34th ST, and one on the Hudson at 30th st. There is also one in battery park that I think is more of a tourist flight spot. I live near the 34th street one, and I am amazed by the number of people that use them during rush hour on weekdays. There might be 50-100 people that commute by helicopter into the city each day at that heliport. That…

For Battery Park you're thinking of the Wall St heliport (JRB). Mostly Wall Street types but there's also several tourist flights. The noise from this heliport on the Brooklyn side can be unbelievable in the summer.

The 30th St heliport is due to close...at some point due to its location in Hudson River Park but I suspect there will be some sort of negotiated solution to relocate it.

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