HeliNY

New York's long-running helicopter tour company

HeliNY flies its own helicopter sightseeing tours over New York City from 2 bases: the Downtown Manhattan Heliport at 6 East River Piers, New York, NY 10004, and Linden Municipal Airport at 1101 W Edgar Rd, Linden, NJ 07036. The company, whose press releases give its legal name as Helicopter Flight Services, Inc., says it has operated helicopter tours "since 1994, with one of the largest fleets of Bell helicopters," and calls itself "the largest sightseeing helicopter operator in the New York metropolitan region." Its fleet is Bell 407 helicopters, including the newer 407GX and 407GXi. Beyond sightseeing it runs custom charters from any heliport in the area, specialized destination tours, commercial work, and medical logistics and organ transport. The tours cover Manhattan, the harbor and the Statue of Liberty, and, depending on the flight, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Jersey City and the Hudson Valley as far as Sleepy Hollow.

Tours from Manhattan and from Linden

Prices are shown per seat, "starting from," with infants under 2 flying free, plus a facility fee and fuel surcharge per seat.

From the Downtown Manhattan Heliport (check in 30 minutes before the flight; $45 facility fee and fuel surcharge per seat):

• The New Yorker Tour, from $259, 12 to 15 minutes, from the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty up the Hudson past Battery Park, Chelsea, Midtown and Times Square.
• The Ultimate Tour, from $289, 17 to 20 minutes, which the site calls its most popular: the whole island from the Battery to the George Washington Bridge, with the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, Yankee Stadium and Central Park.
• The Deluxe Tour, from $389, 25 to 30 minutes, the longest from Manhattan, extending south to the Verrazzano Bridge with views of Staten Island, southern Brooklyn and Coney Island.

From Linden, New Jersey (check in 50 minutes before; $35 facility fee and fuel surcharge per seat on the Skyline tour):

• New York City Skyline Tour, from $299, 25 to 30 minutes, over the Verrazano Bridge and up the Hudson to the George Washington Bridge.
• Fall Foliage Experience, from $379, 45 minutes, taking in New York Harbor, Manhattan, Jersey City, the Palisades and Sleepy Hollow, offered seasonally from September 15th into November.
• NYC Helicopter Proposal (NJ), from $3,550, a 30 minute flight in a Bell 407 with a professional engagement photographer on board; a driver collects the couple from anywhere in Manhattan beforehand.

The Linden page says the New Jersey departure gives "extra airtime and enhanced booking flexibility." A roundtrip Mercedes Sprinter van runs to Linden Airport from the Linden NJ Transit station for up to 12-14 guests per trip, with transport from Manhattan available for an extra fee, and one Linden page mentions a complimentary shuttle from the train station and complimentary champagne on private tours (21+).

Private and charter flights start from $2,200 and are booked through an agent, with charter destinations listed as Hemlock, Neversink, a spa retreat and Atlantic City.

Add-ons, occasions and night flights

Add-ons named on the tour pages include a bouquet of roses, GoPro rental and a spot on a Times Square billboard, which the site says can display a flyer's photo for a birthday, engagement or other celebration. The site's experience pages are organized by occasion: night flights paired with a romantic dinner, anniversary and honeymoon flights, wedding gifts, and group tours. There is a picture sales service, gift cards, a brochure and a membership login.

On board, the deals page describes spacious cabins with extended high-visibility windows and Bose noise-cancelling headsets, and says the company flies "over 200 tours weekly, 7 days a week" and has "flown 15,000 flights and serviced over 78,000 customers annually." The reviews it publishes mention pilot narration during the flight and a teenager who got the copilot seat up front; they are the company's own selection, and the site does not say how seats are assigned.

Safety, booking and terms

HeliNY puts safety up front. It says its Bell 407s carry a Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), GPS, synthetic vision displays and terrain warning systems, maintained by an in-house team of factory-certified technicians, and that its 407GX helicopters use noise reduction technology. Press releases on the site announce certification from the Tour Operators Program of Safety (TOPS) in November 2025, which it says makes it the only helicopter operator in the New York region with that certification, and WYVERN Wingman certification on December 2, 2025, adding that it was the first operator at the Downtown Manhattan heliport to meet new safety standards that took effect on September 1, 2025. The releases cite "over 80,000 collective pilot hours and 78,000 passengers flown annually."

On terms, the tour pages say "Free cancellation up to 72 hours prior to flight," and the site sells Event Ticket Protection and trip insurance for extra flexibility. Its booking tips advise flying early in a trip for the best chance of good weather, avoiding arrival and departure days, and arriving early for check-in. A seasonal promo code is valid for select tours between September 14th and November 18, 2026, when bought online at least 3 hours ahead. The site is available in several languages, including Italian, Spanish, German, French, Japanese and Portuguese.

What the site leaves open, and who it suits

The listed prices are "starting from" and "Subject to seasonal pricing," and the facility fee and fuel surcharge come on top, so the per-seat price at checkout will be higher than the headline figure. The tour pages do not say how many passengers share a helicopter or give a weight policy, and the site does not explain what happens if weather cancels a flight inside the 72-hour window, beyond pointing to its insurance add-ons.

HeliNY suits visitors to New York who want a short sightseeing flight straight from Lower Manhattan, or a longer one from New Jersey with more time in the air, and couples planning a proposal or anniversary with photographer, flowers and billboard options. Travelers who compare operators on safety records can read its certifications and fleet details on the site before booking.