Heli-hailing apps offer an escape from megacity traffic

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Private helicopter charters have been available for decades – at a price – but the latest services are far cheaper and more accessible to the public, allowing anyone with a smartphone and a credit card to order a ride with relative ease.

Sameer Rehman, the Asia-Pacific managing director of Bell Helicopter, said chopper manufacturers were predicting more such services in traffic-clogged cities, including parts of Southeast Asia in particular, describing the area as an "important testbed" for the wider region.

"That can be replicated throughout other cities and countries in the Asia-Pacific," he said at a conference in Singapore.

Another similar service was recently launched in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, a chaotic metropolis of over 10 million people, which suffers some of the world's worst traffic jams.

An overview of the Indonesian capital Jakarta /AFP Photo

Operated by Whitesky Aviation, Helicity now has about 60 customers each month, mostly from the business world.

Its services includes a 20-minute ride from Jakarta airport into the heart of the city for six million rupiah (about 427 US dollars) for up to four people, as well as a 45-minute flight from Jakarta to Bandung, 150 kilometers away, from 14 million rupiah (about 997 US dollars).

While it offers an alternative to sitting in traffic for hours and is cheaper than private charters in the past, the prices are nevertheless out of reach for most people in Jakarta, where the monthly minimum wage is about 250 US dollars.

And things have not all gone well for Whitesky. Last month, one of their helicopters crashed on Indonesia's central Sulawesi Island as it flew over a mining area, killing one person on the ground and injuring four passengers.

Other than the second thoughts on price and safety, industry players also warn about infrastructure scarcity and inconvenient regulations.

Suitable take-off and landing sites are hard to find, particularly in Asian cities. Helipads have been springing up rapidly in recent years, but a large number are private, not to mention that observers warn many have not been certified as safe by aviation authorities.

This picture taken in Jakarta, Indonesia, on March 29, 2018, shows a Helicity helicopter preparing for take-off. /VCG Photo

Restriction on flight times is another problem. Whitesky Aviation chief executive Denon Prawiraatmadja said that they were currently only allowed to fly between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

"We are in the process of getting more operating hours, so it can become a 24/7 operation," he said. "We hope this type of new regulation will allow us to grow the business."

Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at consultancy StrategicAero Research, also cautioned there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the nascent industry and how it would operate, and wondered if further security screenings will be needed.

[Top image: File photo shows a Helicity helicopter flying in Jakarta, Indonesia. /VCG Photo]

Source(s): AFP