Story ID: 
Heli-Shuttle a Hit at Biggin Hill
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: The London-area helicopter service has really taken off over the past year
Word Count: 204
At NBAA’s Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference (SDC) in Tampa, London Biggin Hill Airport is celebrating the one-year anniversary of its Heli Shuttle service, which has proven quite popular, tallying nearly 630 flights since its introduction. Launched at SDC 2015, the dedicated, on-demand service provided by resident charter firm Castle Air carries arriving business jet passengers from Biggin Hill to the London Heliport in Battersea. The six-minute, $3,700 flight on one of Castle Air's six-passenger Finnmeccanica Helicopters AW109s offers the shortest travel time from any business airport in the UK to the capital, claims the company.

Included in the cost is complimentary door-to-door chauffeur service to the client’s final London destination.

“London Biggin Hill ranks third in the UK in business aviation movements, handling some 14,000 during 2015,” noted Robert Walters, the airport’s business development director. “With the anticipated expansion of our operating hours and no slot restrictions, we will be able to welcome more traffic, backed up by strong infrastructure, with multi-choice FBOs, maintenance providers and extensive hangarage options.”

Biggin Hill’s sister airport Teterboro offers a similar service with operator AAG whisking passengers between the airport and Manhattan aboard Sikorsky S-76s in less than 10 minutes.