FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Our reservation agents can also arrange private tours or large groups for you. Please contact us at 866.ZIP.OVER (866.947.6837) to speak with one of our multi-lingual reservation agents. They guide you through an online booking process, so please have access to the internet when you call. If you book through a tour operator or hotel concierge, he or she reserves the time for you and coordinates your confirmation with you.

To maintain our operations, we have expenses associated with using the heliport facilities, including passenger and landing fees. The heliport fee we charge covers these costs, and we pass this fee along to our customers. This allows us to ensure that our operations run smoothly and our customers have a positive experience when using our services. We strive to provide the best service possible and covering these expenses with the heliport fee helps us achieve that goal.

Please print out all vouchers and bring them to our customer service desk upon check-in. As much as we would love to use your phone, we need to be able to scan the barcode on your printed voucher.

We accept cash in US dollars (USD), all major credit/debit cards, and traveler’s checks.

*We do not accept American Express.

Helicopter tour operations are conducted from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays, and from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on holidays. Therefore, our latest reserved tour times are 6:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively.

We are located at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport at Pier 6 on the East River. Our building is located just north of the Staten Island Ferry and just south of the Pier 11 South Street Seaport. Public transportation can be taken from anywhere in Manhattan using the MTA Subway. You want to take the R train to the Whitehall stop and walk north past the Staten Island Ferry. We are located in the gray two-story building on the right with the large clock on it. If traveling by taxi, please request that your driver take you to the Downtown Manhattan Heliport at Pier 6 on the East River. If driving from Manhattan, you want to take the West Side highway 9A south to the FDR tunnel exit (fork left), then after the tunnel immediately exit South Street. The heliport is on your right. Parking is not available at the heliport, but there is a cash municipal parking lot at the next exit just west of Pier 11.

Yes. When you approach the heliport, a ZIP AVIATION representative accompanies you to a security checkpoint where you are scanned by a metal detector to ensure safety. Firearms, weapons, sharp objects, lighters, explosives, and chemicals are prohibited at the heliport and aboard aircraft. Once the security check is completed, you are escorted to the reservation desk by a ZIP AVIATION representative. There, you check in with your photo identification, and you are asked to leave your belongings in a secure, private locker during the flight. You may take only your camera, phone, and glasses with you aboard the aircraft. If you don’t have a camera, photos are available for sale at the kiosk, or you may purchase a USB drive of your photos.

Yes! Flying with ZIP AVIATION is a very safe experience.  The 407 and helicopters leverage years of experience and incorporate lessons learned in those aircraft over the last 40 years. The result is a technologically safer aircraft that provide a smooth ride, a more powerful engine, enhanced avionics, and technical flight characteristics that make it a pilot’s dream to operate and fly. Our professional aviators are factory-trained with thousands of hours in helicopters and certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

If you reserved your seat with other people, they fly with you but may or may not sit next to you aboard the aircraft.  Safety is the first priority when it comes to seating arrangements.

Our fleet includes luxurious six-passenger Bell 407 aircraft. Additional aircraft can be dispatched to accommodate large groups. See our aircraft page to view the helicopters.

Seating in the helicopter is arranged by weight and balance to maximize safety and security. Persons with disabilities are accommodated accordingly.

There are multiple seats in the helicopters, each with their own spectacular view. Due to weight and balance restrictions, we must seat our passengers accordingly to balance the aircraft. Please advise us of any disabilities prior to departure so we can accommodate you.

Zip does not conduct air tours in bad weather that impacts our safe operation of the helicopter. If you have any weather concerns, please contact our reservations department at 866.ZIP.OVER (866.947.6837). They’re in contact with flight operations at all times regarding hazardous weather conditions.

Our goal is to fly you on time or ahead of schedule. A flight may be delayed due to intermittent weather conditions, a maintenance issue that was unplanned, or as a result of some other operational issue beyond our control. Our operations personnel keep you informed and provide you with updates or the opportunity to reschedule should you require that option.

Prior to flight, you check in with the customer service desk. You are then asked to place your belongings in a private, secure locker and use the restroom if necessary. Passengers are then weighed and assigned a flight accordingly. After that, you watch a safety video and listen to a verbal safety briefing from a member of our aircraft loading crew. The crew member then outfits each passenger with a life vest. This process takes about 45 minutes, so checking in 45 minutes prior to departure is required.

You are permitted to bring a camera, phone, and glasses/sunglasses aboard the aircraft. Purses, bags, handbags, camera bags, scarves, hats, and other loose items of clothing need to stay at the heliport in a private, secure locker.

You may take pictures or video once aboard the aircraft. Taking pictures on the heliport ramp while walking to the helicopter is strictly prohibited.

We are the only helicopter tour company to offer you guided tour narration in nine languages (two at a time) through a premium aviation headset. The pre-recorded narration allows for your pilot to focus on communicating with air traffic control in the busy New York airspace. Don’t worry; our pilots are very fun and chime in often!

We can promise you from the time you book your reservation to the time you ride in our helicopters to the time you leave the heliport, you have the most fun of your life flying with ZIP AVIATION helicopter tours!

Private helicopter tours are also available. The six-seat helicopter Bell 407 can be rented for a 30-minute exclusive private tour of New York City also. Private helicopter tours are perfect fits for birthdays, wedding proposals, anniversaries, and more! You can see over 30 of New York City’s most historical and breathtaking sights from the comfort of your leather seat looking out your own private window.  Please call our reservations department at 866.ZIP.OVER (866.947.6837) to book your private helicopter tour!

Helicopter airport transfers are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We offer airport transfers to and from John F. Kennedy International, Newark International, La Guardia, Teterboro, Long Island/Islip, Westchester County, and other surrounding airports. Please contact our reservations team at 866.ZIP.OVER (866.947.6837) for pricing details.