Need A Ride? Soon You Can Hail A Helicopter With Uber

Hate dealing with traffic, and have a big chunk of money just burning up in your pocket? You’ll soon be able to summon a helicopter ride using Uber, as part of partnership between the ride-hailing company and aircraft manufacturer Airbus.

Uber and Airbus will provide on-demand flights with H125 and H130 helicopters, starting with a test of the service during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT, which starts Jan. 21. Don’t get excited about the idea of a chopper landing on the front lawn, either, as Uber will send a car to pick up clients for their helicopter rides.

“Its a pilot project, we’ll see where it goes—but it’s pretty exciting,” Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders told The Wall Street Journal at the Digital Life Design conference in Munich.

The project’s goal is to make chopper rides available to a wider audience, but just how wide remains to be seen, as Enders didn’t disclose how much it’ll cost per trip. And let’s not even think about surge pricing for helicopters.

This isn’t the first time Uber has tried its UberChopper service: the company tested it between Manhattan and the Hamptons in 2013, and has also offered chopper rides at special events like the Cannes Film Festival. Each of those rides cost between several hundred and several thousands of dollars, so you’d better start saving your pennies if you’re interested this time around.

Airbus to Join Forces With Uber for On-Demand Helicopter Service, CEO Says [The Wall Street Journal]

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