Airbus, Uber team up for on-demand helicopter rides

Aircraft manufacturer Airbus is partnering with Uber to provide on-demand services called UberChopper. This is why you will now have the option of asking for air transportation from Uber via helicopters provided by Airbus. One of Uber’s competitors, Blade, made headlines after offering five minute helicopter rides in New York City to help beat traffic while the Pope was in town.

The move follows Uber’s attempts to branch out from auto rides. The partnership will supply a number of helicopters for a new Uber project aimed to making air-based travel more affordable and logistically easier to access.

Uber did test a helicopter service that operated between Manhattan and the Hamptons in 2013. It has also offered helicopter flights at Cannes Film Festival in France and Bonnaroo Arts Festival in Nashville, USA, where it teamed up with local helicopter company Helistar Aviation.

An Airbus spokesperson revealed that UberChopper will use Airbus H125 and H130 helicopters for its pilot project.

Uber’s helicopter customers will be picked up in a auto first and driven to their take off point, according to the Journal. Neither company has spoken about what the potential cost of such a journey might be, but Uber has charged between a few hundred to a few thousand pounds for similar services.

Airbus Group has also just opened a new venture capital fund with $US150 million in secured funding to direct toward new startups in aerospace, data analytics, drones, security and satellite technologies.