New York helicopter service Gotham Air offers airport transfers affordable to 'general public'

The company hopes to open up helicopter-travel to a broader customer base with its $99 flights

An airport transfer with a view: Manhattan's skyline (Getty )

New Yorkers wanting to beat the traffic on their way to the airport will now have the chance to catch a ride on a helicopter – for less than $100.

Gotham Air, an airport shuttle service, is from Wednesday to offer flights from Manhattan to both JFK and Newark Liberty Airports at a starting price of $99.

The company claims that its transfer cuts the average travel time from two hours to six minutes and costs about the same as black cars services.

It hopes to open up helicopter-travel to a broader customer base – although the low price only applies to first-time flyers. Flights thereafter cost between $199 and $219.

Gotham Air chief executive Tim Hayes told the New York Post that he believed helicopters shouldn't be restricted to the "super elite" but available to the "general public".

"It’s our belief that people who want to charter helicopters to take them to private airports already know how to do this," he said.

"We want to give as many people as possible the chance to experience a helicopter flight."

Gotham Air is not a direct air carrier and its Bell 407 aircraft are operated by Helicopter Flight Services (HFS).

And even at the lower price, passengers can expect to travel in style, enjoying in-flight food and luxury leather seats.