Sydney Harbour is set to get a floating heliport next month, with flights to and from Sydney Airport joining the mandatory sight-seeing excursions.
The city's first heliport since a Darling Harbour service helipad in the late 1980s will be able to whisk business travellers from the Harbour to Mascot "in five minutes" says James Guest, director of Newcastle Helicopters, which will run the service from 7am to dusk.
Guest expects flights to be priced at $190 per person based on an 18 minute journey, and hopes to eventually several sites on the Harbour, including east of Fort Denison and near the new Barangaroo development.
The first heliport will be a simple flat-top barge located a short boat ride from Circular Quay, but by mid-2013 this will be replaced by a purpose-built helipad with its own meeting rooms.
The Sydney Business Chamber has predictably plonked down a welcome mat for the heliport.
"It's a commonsense outcome that puts Sydney in a similar position to other renowned global cities" says SBC chief Patricia Forsythe, adding that London, New York, Singapore and Melbourne already have helipads.
"As we see Barangaroo come online over the next few years and it grows as a financial services hub it will go hand-in-hand with a direct helicopter service between the new precinct and the airport."
Get the latest news for business traveller and frequent flyers – follow Australian Business Traveller on Twitter.
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 May 2011
Total posts 732
InInteresting concept, pricing is quite steep (cab ride from city is around 45AUD and train is 15aud). It would really only be beneficial for top management who are looking to leave in peak hour, when the only alternative is a train ride (packed like sardines), which also takes 20mins but leaves you with some miles of walking. Otherwise a cab takes you there as fast (esp since you do not have the boatride to the platform). Are the helicopters scheduled on a roster or can you rock up and take off? I reckon the benefits of this will also depend largely on where the helicopter lands at the airport and if you get some fast track check in and immigration (for international flights).
15 Apr 2011
Total posts 580
This will be more useful if we end up with a new airport somewhere south of Sydney (like Wilton). Doing that trip in 20-30 minutes where a train would take over an hour will be a real advantage for some people.
Hi Guest, join in the discussion on Sydney Harbour to get floating heliport