Yahoo Finance Uber-style helicopter service now offered on weekends in the Philippines
For about $110 Canadian, you can book yourself a 15-minute helicopter ride to help you avoid the morning commute downtown. Unfortunately the service is not yet available in Canada, but if you’re in the Philippines, you’re in luck.
The Uber-style helicopter service in the Philippines is called GrabHeli, a spinoff brand of the original Filipino taxi hailing app GrabTaxi (which is also available in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore). Yes it’s true that $110 Canadian for 15 minutes and currently only runs on weekends, meaning the helicopter version of the service is just a novelty at the moment, an alternative way to see the city from the sky. However, it will eventually be a service that people can use for their regular commute. Two obvious key differences will separate the helicopter service from the taxi service: the helicopter service will cost more and get you to your destination faster, and you’re limited to a select number of destinations because helicopters can only land at specific points around the city.
While those challenges are obvious and not going away anytime soon, in a country like the Philippines which boasts 349 people per square kilometre of land (compared to Canada which has a population density of just four people per square kilometre) it’s obvious that traffic and congestion are always going to be a constant problem until innovative solutions like this one become commonplace.
Besides being an ingenious idea and eventually making life easier for people trying to get around, the owners of the GrabHeli and GrabTaxi brands stand to earn a pretty penny off of the idea as they continue to move customers towards exclusively using their own credit card payment solution, GrabPay, to take advantage of these time-saving, cost-effective services. You can bet your bottom dollar that we may one day see an Uber-only payment method to for your car service here in Canada too (the company is already committed to competing with GrabPay in other parts of the world).
Earlier today was so much fun! That was my first ever heli ride! Can't wait to do it again! @grabtaxiph #GrabHeli 🚁 pic.twitter.com/YkmF1TTmxg
— Patty Manalaysay (@PattyTiu) November 24, 2015
Business objectives aside, this is a really cool concept. Check out a quick little freshly uploaded snippet of people actually using GrabHeli for yourself. It sure does look like a lot of fun, and it definitely seems like the next most practical move in terms of making commuting more manageable in the world’s most traffic-jammed regions. The truth is that even Uber recognizes the idea is awesome. It’s strictly promotional introduction of Uber Chopper last month is proof of that.
At least for now however, we Canadians won’t be able to get to work in a helicopter like we can a taxi. But if this turns out to be a success, it may only be a matter of time before you find yourself calling out to your fellow carpoolers (helipoolers?) who are running late: “GET TO THE CHOPPA!”
