The title of the post definitely sounds like a clickbait, but rest assured, it’s not. You can actually go from West 30th Street in Manhattan to JFK in about 8 minutes. No, you don’t get to hire Superman, but you get the next best thing. You can hire a shared helicopter and bypass the notorious NY traffic to reach the airport well in time.
With plenty of cheaper airport transfer options, hiring a helicopter may seem like an unnecessary opulence. However, this definitely makes sense for executives who have back to back meetings and have to leave at the nick of time to catch their flights. It also offers a last-minute option to people who are running extremely late and have a high chance of missing their flights. Instead of hiring a yellow cab, which would take them over an hour in moderate traffic conditions, they can book an airport helicopter transfer service online.
With so many helicopter airport shuttle services in the city, there is always a flight leaving from a nearby location for JFK, La Guardia, and Newark. There is no debating the fact that helicopter transfers are expensive. However, as new budget helicopter airport transfer companies spring up like mushrooms, the cost of hiring a heli is steadily declining. To give you an idea if you should hire a helicopter for your next commute to the airport, here’s how it compares to two of the most popular transport options.
Yellow Cabs: This is definitely one of the most popular ways to the get to the airport aside from taking the train. You can flag them down on the street or just call the cab company in advance to book a ride. No matter what, you are looking at a commute time of about an hour from Manhattan to JFK. The ride can take much longer if you are stuck in rush hour traffic. Though cheaper than hiring a helicopter, hailing a taxi is also not the cheapest option. Depending on your exact boarding point, you can look at a cab fare ranging from $60 to as much as a hundred dollars.
When to Not Take a Cab: When you leave for the airport well in advance, cabs are fine. However, when you are in a hurry cabs are the worst transport mode you can choose.
Subway Train: For most people, taking the train to JFK is the most practical transport mode. With a train ticket costing less than $8, it’s definitely the cheapest way to get to the airport. The train also bypasses the NY traffic, however, it’s not necessarily fast. To reach the Terminal 1 station (John F. Kennedy subway station) from Manhattan, passengers need to switch multiple trains. Switching trains and waiting for the connecting train to arrive stretches the commute time to well over an hour.
When to Not Take the Train: When you are running late, trains are really not a practical option. It’s also impractical to carry along multiple space-consuming luggage in a crowded train.
