Slashdot Mirror
Airbus Joins Uber For On-Demand Chopper Rides (thestack.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Airbus is teaming up with Uber to provide on-demand helicopter rides, due to debut at the Sundance Film Festival which opens in Utah this month. The flight service will employ H125 and H130 aircraft to transport passengers, while Uber vehicles will ferry them to and from the helipad sites. A Utah-based firm, called Air Resources, will be coordinating the service. This is not the first time Uber has experimented with helicopter partnerships, transporting people via chopper ride at the U.S. Formula 1 Grand Prix, the Cannes Film Festival, Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, and from New York into the Hamptons in 2013.
I am just waiting for the drone that comes, lets you harness yourself into some hanging restraints and transports me to work.... bonus if it can deliver me right to the 12th floor window....
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
How does Airbus fit into this?
From the paywalled Wall St journal link in TFA
MUNICH—Airbus Group SE will provide helicopters to Uber Technologies Inc. for its on-demand services, the European plane maker’s chief executive said Sunday.
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
This should have debuted at the friggin' Catalina Wine Mixer!
It's not a bad idea for the NY metro area if you have the landing pads--massive amounts of money and plenty of people willing to trade money for time. You could probably also do a good business in LA--there's some money and helicopters let you avoid the traffic.
In keeping with Uber's business model, the pilots won't be licensed, of course. And the helicopters won't be inspected or insured. That's ok because you're not really buying a helicopter ride, you're just asking to ride along with somebody that happens to have a helicopter they found somewhere and a smartphone.
Just because I can hook a shark from a boat, I do no offer to wrestle it in the water.
This marketing press-release is making the rounds, and with each retelling it's getting more farfetched.
No, you will not be able to *ever* call up a helicopter to pick you up with Uber. This is just a marketing press release (and fairly effective obviously).
In the United States helicopter manufacturers don't fly helicopter -- helicopter flight operations companies do. Those that do on-demand (charter) flights are licensed under "Part 135" (14 CFR 135 to be precise). See http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/te... for details.
Part 135 operators have strict requirements for pilots, aircraft, maintenance, and flight operations. They also have requirements for passengers some of which are dictated by the TSA. PDF (sorry): http://nata.aero/data/files/gi...
Now if Uber and Airbus were *TRULY* committed to doing something together, then Airbus would provide aircraft at reduced lease rates to operating companies that could then partner with Uber. Uber would deliver the passenger to the helicopter; the helicopter would do the long-haul flight; another Uber car would deliver the passenger to the final destination. All this is doable, but none of it is in the press-release. None of it is in the plans. None of it is going to make a flight-ops company buy multi-million-dollar aircraft.
It sure would be nice though. I'd love to fly more people around in a helicopter.
Ehud Gavron
FAA Commercial Helicopter Pilot