Through a helicopter ride, you can collect some magnificent memories for life long, and this is the best way to explore and travel over a new city if it is New York or Grand Canyon.
The rides can provide you a bird-eye viewpoint. In addition, the helicopter tour offers you a seascape, cityscape, and landscape of the world’s most popular destinations.
In summer, the sky is crystal clear. So this is the perfect time for a helicopter ride.
London, Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, and the Grand Canyon of America are some marvelous places where you can enjoy the helicopter ride. But the helicopter ride above New York is the for sure the most famous one.
The airway is a very popular model for traveling and exploring the views. However, according to Reuters, helicopters are meant to be a popular mode of traveling shortly.
The trends show helicopter riding is now on the rise. It has a west-tracking market of around $500 million. But it is compulsory to mention that it is an expensive deal to ride a helicopter.
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How Much Do A Helicopter Ride Cost?
You have to spend somewhere between $100 to $1000 riding about 15 to 30 minutes above soaring skylines, huge landscapes, and famous points. Here is a list of some helicopter companies and their cost:
1. Airbus AS350/H125 Astar charges $1,700-$2,100 for 6 passengers.
2. Bella 206 Jet Ranger charges $1,200-$1,300 for 4 passengers.
3. Bell 407 costs $2,000-$2,700 for 6 passengers.
4. Airbus EC120/H120 costs $1,100-$1,200 for 4 passengers.
Why helicopter ride is expensive?
In Chicago, a 20 minutes helicopter ride tour can cost you about $139, whereas a 15-minute tour in New York City can make you pay around $175.
It costs $135 in Miami and in Hawai Island; a tour with the popular agency, Blue helicopter costs $619.
But you are paying so much money for a little time being in the air because of these helicopters’ fuel. It makes the cost of the ride very valuable.
Helicopter exhausts a huge amount of energy to spin its rotor blade which weighs nearly 250 pounds which consumes a lot of fuel for the function.
The second factor that makes the helicopter ride much expensive is the salary of the pilot. According to upper limit aviation, a less experienced commercial helicopter pilot has to start as a flying instructor in helicopter tours ( according to upper limit aviation ).
New pilots have been paid a starting annual salary of around $25,000, and they get paid by calculating how many hours they are on ride. So, it is a part of your ticket cost that goes to the pilot’s income.
Why Helicopter tour is so short and expensive?
As it is mentioned above, a helicopter’s rotor blade would burn a lot of energy, and assuming a 20-minute ride to be worth $140 and if you would opt for a 30-minute ride, it would hike up to $210.
That’s a huge amount of money for such a short-time flight. Therefore, helicopter tour companies have to make the price both reasonable and affordable, based on the marketing values.
They will gain most of the tourists, thus automatically reducing the duration of the ride.
One of the other reasons must be that the companies won’t want to take up all of your vacation time will go into a helicopter ride.
You just have to log in just 30 minutes before the boarding time and must keep all of your valuable belongings in a locker or storage, take a safety class, and then the entire journey would take less than 2 hours. You will also be able to explore other attractive sites.
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Are helicopter tours worth it?
They are expensive, no doubt, but it’s a great experience after all and worth the splurge. If you like traveling in the airways and enjoy the aerial views, you are gonna love it! The pilot would narrate to you the destination’s specialty, and at the same time, you will also be lost in the beauty of the region’s topography.
The pilot will act as your private tour guide till your ride ends. It will also be beneficial for your geographical knowledge.
You will not regret the ride, for sure. It will be very enthralling to get a birds-eye view of a landscape. You will get a glimpse of the same pictures you must have seen on google maps while you have searched for a place.
It’s not of those things which you are going to do repeatedly. It’s going to be one of your most precious memories for a long time.
You can make the tour very special by doing something special for your loved ones. You can take photos of the awestruck aerial views and a selfie with the birds too!
Places For a Helicopter Ride Cost
Victoria Falls, Zambia, and Zimbabwe Helicopter Ride Cost
It creates the partition between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Here the Zambezi river falls into the deep gorge.
It creates a rainbow, which can be seen from 20kms away, and thus the aerial view of the impressive waterfall is worthy of watching. Zambezi national park is also a delight to watch. United Air charters provide helicopters from Livingstone for both long and short rides.
For a 30-min ride over Angels fall, it charges $150. For a ride of Zambezi, a spectacular helicopter charges $284 for a time duration of 25-mins.
The Grand Canyon, USA Helicopter Ride Cost
It is an iconic destination of carved land, stretching 277 river miles.
The colorado river makes a path through the Arizona desert. It is 1 mile deep and spreads across 18 miles.
The helicopter ride provides an aerial view of the vegas strip, the Mojave desert, and the Hoover dam.
You have to pass the South rim and get permission to a riverboat ride and for a skywalk. Sundance helicopter tour has a special relationship with the indigenous native American tribes, which takes off from Las Vegas, while the Papillon also provides helicopter services.
The cost starts from $195 from Las Vegas and varies up to $620, including Skywalks and night flight services.
Australia’s Great Barrier reef Helicopter Ride Cost
is also known as the world’s largest coral reef, stretching for about 2300kms situated along the Queensland coast.
There are many tour companies offering helicopter rides for various sites like the main reef, the Low Isles, the Green Island, the Heart reef, and the Whitehaven beach.
You can enjoy the views of sun rays along with sharks, turtles, and many beautiful creatures.
You can also try snorkels and dive stops. You can also opt to visit the Daintree rainforest, the Baron gorges, the Mossman, Cairns Highlands, and many more.
GBR helicopters offer short flights from Port Douglas and Cairns. Cost starts from $267.75 and varies with the choice of activities like snorkels and dive stops.
The New York City, USA
The areal view is the best way to explore New York City. it takes a very long time to explore the big apple by roadways but can be done within a short duration by a helicopter ride.
You can understand the building structure and the grid pattern of the neighborhoods very clearly from the aerial point of view.
The ride takes off from the southernmost tip of Manhattan Island and lands at the iconic Statue of Liberty.
You can also enjoy views of Ellis Island, the world tour center building, Manhattan, Brooking, central park, and many more if opted.
New York Helicopter agency offers a ride of 25 minutes. A ride generally starts from $190 and $20 for heliport fees. It varies concerning the agencies. You can enjoy the ride for a minimum of 15 to 30 minutes.
Kauai, USA
It is the oldest of Hawai Island, and the most beautiful sites can be seen from the skies above.
Helicopters can take you to the remote cliff of the Na Pali coast, the Waimea Canyon, which is also known as ‘the Grand Canyon of the pacific’.
You can also enjoy the sites of Waialeale carter with its 5000-foot wall and also Wispy waterfall. If opted, you can visit Manawaiopuna waterfall, which is famous for Jurassic Park.
Since 1962, Jack Harter Helicopter has been providing service on the Island and offers 1 to 1.5 hours of ride from Lihue Heliport. A Hughes 500 helicopter with doors off costs $309 per person for 60 to 65 minutes. If you opt for the private service of Moana Loa with a vacant middle seat, you have to pay $325 each.
Is a helicopter ride safe?
Helicopters are very safe forms of transportation if you aren’t negotiating with the budget. Safety mainly depends on the maintenance of the helicopter and the skill of the pilot. It would help if you weren’t stuck between choosing your safety and a cheap ride.
That’s the key to your safe tour. You should grab the window seat and enjoy the scenery, or if you want to make it more remarkable, you should try it with open windows.
What is the best time for a helicopter ride?
It would help if you chose your time of tour somewhere during spring and summer. If you want to enjoy the landscape view, then spring is the perfect time for you. The views, the weather, all would be lovely, and there is no chance your helicopter will go on a hitch. Note that you aren’t going alone on a helicopter ride at that time because it is one of the busiest periods for helicopter tour companies. You have to make your reservations very early if you are sure to experience the ride anyways.
