Manhattan Helicopters — Local services in New York

This is a review for the carrier "Manhattan Helicopters"!

My Husband and I took the middle priced Deluxe Tour on monday with Manhattan Helicopters and were rather disappointed. First, our scheduled time was 10 am and we had to arrive 45 minutes early for check in, which we did. That only took a few minutes though and then we waited for 65 minutes to finally board. There were four other guests on our tour, so the whole helicopter was packed. The helicopter itself, compared to the other helis that operated from that pad, didn't look as modern and also didn't provide the extra long viewy windows as often pictured in the ads. I was then placed in the middle seat and what can I say? While the guy seated in the front next to the pilot was probably having the time of his life and the four other people seated around me on window seats enjoyed the view of Manhattan and surrounding, I was left in the shi**y middle seat enjoying no view in particular. I still payed the same price as all other guests on board, so basically 300 USD to watch people around me enjoying the views. At least my husband was one of them.

The tour was also meant to be 18-20 minutes long but our flight only lastet 16, close to 17 Minutes. Why even pay for the higher priced tour if you don't get the promised flight time? The whole experience with Manhattan Helicopters felt like pure profit making, nothing else. If they would actually care for a good customer experience, they wouldn't pack up the whole heli or would at least sell that middle seat for a far discounted price.

The two stars are for the experience of flying in an helicopter itself and that the pilot obsiously knew his job. And also for the friendly lady that checked us in. Other than that, we CANNOT recommend the carrier and wouldn't book...

I had booked a tour for two with this company through my hotel the day before. On the day of the flight, President Obama was arriving into New York and so our flight was delayed. When we found the heliport we were approached by a man in a scruffy uniform who asked us if we wanted to a helicopter tour, we said we had a ticket which he asked to see and promptly took it out of our hands, turned his back to us and started whispering to another man who he called over. Neither of these men wore a uniform with "Manhattan helicopters" on it. Instead they had another company's name on, "Zip". At this point we thought we were being robbed by of our ticket so I asked for it back to which we were then asked to follow him into the building and sent to the check-in counter. There we were told that the tour I had purchased the day before was to be cut short by half and that we should have known this (the helicopter was suppose to fly from pier 6 to about 50th street. It was cut to 23rd street due to the president being in town). I asked if we would be offered a discount for this, but the reply was a straight "no". The staff were unprofessional throughout and joking around before and after the flight. The whole experience was hostile and worrying and we completely felt scammed. I WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY. And further more, I would recommend anyone when booking, that this is over priced and not...

Flying in the sky of NYC in a helicopter is awesome. No argue. But there are few things to consider.

When you buy tickets you pay a huge difference in between 25, 19, and 15 minutes. But you may be in the same boat with people paying less. That means people who buy 15 mins ticket may take a longer ride and 25 mins buyer may have a cut depending on the numbers of passenders (limitted). I was in such a situation today. No Empire State Building view. Put that in mind when you're pulling hair deciding on which one to choose from.

If you buy from their website not only do you pay for the original price but also have to pay for the helicopter-port fee ($35). But if you buy vouchers from broker companies such as Groupon you may have a 1/3 price off and no fee. This makes a big cut in the price.

You won't have a up close view of the Liberty Statue or any buildings like what they show in their pictures. The flight is quite a straight line back and forth, mainly up the water between Mahattan and Brooklyn. This is quite misleading.

There are "tips appreciated" notes in the helicopter itself and the pilot is quite friendly. I felt bad I didn't tip because no one cared to tip and also becaused I felt a little ripped having paid an amount "not small" for the experience. I wish I had tipped the helicopter. His name is Tim and he's young and...