The commuters using helicopter taxi apps to beat megacity traffic jams without spending a fortune

Within minutes of using an app to book a ride, Agostino Fernandes is looking down on lush greenery from a helicopter taxi high above Bangalore. He has used one of several Uber-style chopper services taking off to help commuters tackle increasingly congested megacities.

In less than 30 minutes – a quarter of the time it would have taken by road – Fernandes is strolling through Kempegowda International Airport to his gate.

Nine flying pet peeves on planes – from passengers not putting devices on flight mode to being rude to cabin crew

“It’s much better than the usual car or taxi because it saves time,” he says.

“And for a city like Bangalore, which they call India’s green capital because of the parks and gardens, you get a very nice view.”

From New York to Jakarta, chopper hailing services are helping commuters beat the traffic chaos.

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, Asia-Pacific managing director of Bell Helicopter, says helicopter manufacturers were predicting more such services in traffic-clogged parts of Southeast Asia in particular, describing it as an “important test bed” for the wider region.

“That can be replicated throughout other cities and countries in the Asia-Pacific,” he says.

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.

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

Its services include a 20-minute ride from Jakarta airport into the heart of the city for six million rupiah (US$430) for up to four people, as well as a 45-minute flight from Jakarta to Bandung, 150 kilometres (90 miles) away, from 14 million rupiah.

The five longest non-stop flights in the world (revised); is Mars next?

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 US$250.

And it has not all been easy going for Whitesky – one of its helicopters crashed last month on Indonesia’s central Sulawesi island as it flew over a mining area, killing one person on the ground and injuring four passengers.

In Bangalore, one of India’s most congested megacities, HeliTaxii launched in March, offering a seat in a helicopter from the airport to IT industrial park Electronic City (the same journey that Fernandes took) for about US$65 per person.

In Sao Paulo, Brazil, the app Voom offers a 30km helicopter ride to the airport for about US$150 – 10 times cheaper than private charters in the past – while in New York, a chopper-hailing service ferries people between downtown and surrounding airports.

The Japanese who see tourists as ‘pollution’ and why more Chinese visitors, with casinos as lure, won’t fix the problem

Despite the growth of such apps, industry players warn there are still major hurdles.

One is finding suitable take-off and landing sites, particularly in Asian cities. Helipads have been springing up rapidly in recent years but a large number are private and observers warn many have not been certified safe by aviation authorities.

Another is restrictions on flying times. Whitesky Aviation chief executive Denon Prawiraatmadja says that since the Jakarta service’s five-strong fleet of choppers was for civilian purposes, they were currently only allowed to fly between 6am and 6pm.

“We are in the process of increasing operating hours, so it can become a 24/7 operation,” he says. “We hope this type of new regulation will allow us to grow the business.”

The company has big expansion plans: in 2016, it signed a 30-helicopter deal with Bell and will receive two Bell 505s every year until the deal is completed. It also has several fixed-wing aircraft in its fleet.

Similarly in Bangalore, Helitaxii is only allowed to fly from 6.30am to 10am, and in a later slot between 3pm and 6pm.

While the popularity of such services is growing, analysts say there are unlikely to be large numbers of helicopter taxis taking to the skies soon as prices – although lower than before – will remain a barrier for many.

Road trips: what to take for navigation, breakdowns, safety and keeping your phone fully charged

Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at consultancy StrategicAero Research, also cautions there is much uncertainty surrounding the nascent industry and how it will operate.

“Will there be further security screenings?” he says. “What sort of passengers will be allowed on these flights?”