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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

#51

Post by adevine »

nerfhammer wrote: post #44
dannylandau wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe by facilitating the service via an app will make the difference here. A much bigger audience and probably a lot easier to book.

Possibly by having the service on-demand they have fewer liabilities so you don't go out of business if demand drops off, which is what did in US Helicopter. Helicopters as a Service. On the other hand if they're too successful maybe the company they're chartering from could decide to offer service themselves and cut them out

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 .

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

#52

Post by dragonwriter »

mikeash wrote: post #34
Animats wrote: post #7

Footnote on ad: "Promotion rate flights are for first time flyers only and limted to a single use. Other terms and conditions may apply." HeliNY, for which they are a reseller, charges $925 for that trip as a charter. Aircraft capacity is 5 (maybe 6). So the regular price, assuming they make you wait for a full helicopter, is probably about $200.

Seems like blatant false advertising to have "$99" in big text and nothing but an asterisk to indicate that this is a rate you're allowed to have exactly once ever.

> Seems like blatant false advertising to have "$99" in big text and nothing but an asterisk to indicate that this is a rate you're allowed to have exactly once ever.

All kinds of services advertise one-time introductory rates that way.

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

#53

Post by azinman2 »

Animats wrote: post #7

Footnote on ad: "Promotion rate flights are for first time flyers only and limted to a single use. Other terms and conditions may apply." HeliNY, for which they are a reseller, charges $925 for that trip as a charter. Aircraft capacity is 5 (maybe 6). So the regular price, assuming they make you wait for a full helicopter, is probably about $200.

Lame.

Now it really is for the 1%. At $99 I can imagine a family wanting to take one to reduce stress and complexities.

How long until drones can take us? :)

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

#54

Post by [deleted] »

lnanek2 wrote: post #33
fishnchips wrote: post #3

What a wonderful and completely non-scalable solution to the question of public transportation.

What makes you think it won't scale? Seems to mesh well with all the PR about drones all over the place lately. I could easily see the helicopters being replaced with remote piloted drone taxis within a decade.

[deleted]

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

#55

Post by johnloeber »

Looks awesome. Taking an Uber or Public Transit from Manhattan to JFK has usually been a pretty severe time-cost, while Ubers and Taxis are also not too cheap.

This service might actually be worth it, from an economic point of view -- it probably cuts between 30 and 60 minutes commute time depending on the time of the day, and it also cuts another 30-45 minutes of security time. Depending on how much you value your time, this could be worth it. Doesn't seem too scalable though, which is unfortunate.

Given there are many people who value their time quite highly in Manhattan, I expect seats on the helicopter(s) will actually be sold out most of time.

(One more aspect to consider in the utility-calculation: what's the probability the helicopter crashes?)

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

#57

Post by dogma1138 »

droob wrote: post #20

The big weird variable time buffer required at the airport would seem to wipe out the time you gain, right? Or, at least, what's an extra half hour when you're on the hook for two hours of security and waiting, followed by a couple-hour flight, followed by another hour of transit on the arrival side?

since the helipad is usually inside the airports flight area you are already per-cleared at the embarkation point so as long as the helicopter makes no stops on the way you won't have to do anything at the airport.

This is very similar to how private charters operate at commercial airports they have their own security checks which are usually much much more lax than the commercial passengers.

Some airport shuttles (in some countries) also allow you to do a security precheck and to turn in your luggage prior to even reaching the airport.

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

#58

Post by 67726e »

nerfhammer wrote: post #45
mikeash wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like blatant false advertising to have "$99" in big text and nothing but an asterisk to indicate that this is a rate you're allowed to have exactly once ever.

given that they're a reseller there probably is no aircraft with their livery as pictured either

Considering I've driven past buses covered in bumper to bumper ads for McDonalds, the local hospital system, and a pawnshop this morning, I think it's safe to say getting your name and logo on a vehicle isn't an insurmountable task. I would consider starting a helicopter-as-a-service to be the greater challenge.

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

#59

Post by lmm »

dragonwriter wrote: post #52
mikeash wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like blatant false advertising to have "$99" in big text and nothing but an asterisk to indicate that this is a rate you're allowed to have exactly once ever.

> Seems like blatant false advertising to have "$99" in big text and nothing but an asterisk to indicate that this is a rate you're allowed to have exactly once ever. All kinds of services advertise one-time introductory rates that way.

Not where I live they don't. Is this a US thing?
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