Uber Expands into Helicopters

The international car service Uber, currently running into some road barriers, is launching a limited expansion into per-seat helicopter ride sharing. Uber broke into the market in the metropolitan New York area in 2013 through an alliance with the Blade service and Liberty Helicopters. Recently it has expanded its helicopter offerings to Los Angeles; Melbourne, Australia; and Cape Town, South Africa. Typically, Uber aligns with an established charter operator and offers package ground-air deals involving its car service. Sometimes the deals are heavily promoted during special events, holiday weekends or the summer tourism season, depending on the market.

In October, Uber offered Melbourne customers a special deal during the Caulfield Cup horse races in partnership with Air Melbourne. The package included ground transportation in an Uber Mini Cooper to the helipad, a flight to Caulfield and VIP race passes.

In Cape Town, customers can choose from heli-tour packages with ground transportation: the “two oceans” package provides a flight along the Atlantic Coast to False Bay and passes over Fish Hoek to Muizenberg; a “full peninsula” route covers the coast from the Cape Peninsula from Cape Town to the Cape of Good Hope; and specialized tours take in wine lands and shark-cage diving.

Over last Labor Day weekend, Uber offered a deal in partnership with Orbic Air for air tours of Los Angeles and Malibu with options for a “unique safari tour of the Malibu Wines property featuring a wine and cheese tasting, safari ride and the opportunity to feed safari animals.”

In the Indian cities of Mumbai and Bangalore, Uber teamed with local helicopter providers in a special promotion with Johnnie Walker Blue Label scotch for skyline and brunch tours last summer.

However, Uber’s most visible season-long service continues to be its alliance with Blade and Liberty Helicopters in New York, ferrying summertime vacationers to the Hamptons on Long Island for a one-way price of about $500 per seat.