At home, you’re a hard-working man or woman, a parent most likely. At work, you’re a competitive colleague, maybe even one of the executives. On the road, you’re a driver. The question is, are you ever a person who affords paying $232 for a 15-minute chopper ride?
Maybe, just maybe, it’s not you, the regular petrolhead Uber is targeting. Perhaps, one of the companies with the fastest expansion rate on the planet will not settle for a piece of the pie. No, the San Francisco-based company is taking over the entire bakery, like it or not. What does that mean for a transportation giant? Taking over the skies is part of that plan.
Sure, Uber had previously provided helicopter services to customers in mainland China, where it is competing against domestic taxi-and-car-hailing app Didi Kuaidi. The service the company has come up with recently relates to another part of the country, though, namely the Hong Kong island. So here’s what you get for the 200 bucks you pay:
- a 15-minute chopper ride, touring Hong Kong island with breathtaking views of Victoria Harbour
- door-to-door UberBlack service to-and-from Heliservices Helipad at the Peninsula Hotel, in an exclusive car
- Uber swag and refreshments
Is it a permanent service? Not for now it’s not. The request is available on the Uber app from 12 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 8th. You fire-up the app and request a chopper; then you need to get a phone confirmation and up you go. In terms of limitations, you should know all fliers must be 18 years or older. Also, don’t expect that you can change the route, it’s fixed.
Uber may be running the gig, but they are not the direct air carrier, which means that air services may be subject to additional terms provided by Heliservices Aviation. Other than that, we must admit sightseeing with a chopper doesn’t sound that bad, to be honest.
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