FIP-Moc Medicina 2020/1

Uber’s new helicopter service is an expensive, time-consuming adventure

On Thursday, the ride-hail company launched a premium helicopter service in New York City with the promise of 8-minute flights to nearby John F. Kennedy airport from downtown Manhattan.
During a test run earlier this week, it cost \$205 for a one way Uber Copter trip to the airport — an experience that, start to finish, took me 55 minutes to complete. That fee included a 19-minute Uber X car ride from the Lower East Side 2.8 miles to the heliport, as well as a 5-minute trip to my final destination, the new TWA Hotel at JFK.
But for what's supposed to be an alternative to waiting in highway traffic, it still ends up being a headache. I could have arrived at the hotel in 40 minutes for \$61 if I had ordered an Uber X ride from my original location south of Houston Street. That's saving almost \$145 for a faster service.

Available at://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/04/tech/uber-copter-review/index.html. Accessed on October, 4th 2019. Adapted.

From beginning to end, the trip took the author: