From September 16 through March 31, ANA will be offering roundtrip first class passengers returning from New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Frankfurt, and Paris, a complimentary helicopter ride into Tokyo. The whole process takes 30 minutes, with a 15 minute car ride to the heliport and then a 15 minute helicopter ride. Unfortunately award passengers and passengers in “certain fare classes” don’t qualify, so I’m expecting this is only for people on $23,000 full fare tickets.
It’s interesting to see ANA add this service, since they’ve been the airline with some of the biggest cutbacks since the recession began. Nonetheless it’s nice to see an airline focus a bit on ground services, since that’s really where the industry could use some improving overall.
(Tip of the hat to Vince)
Trying to figure out ground transportation after a flight is not something I like to deal with. Having a helicopter flight into the city would make things so much easier. Would there be a weight limit on the luggage you could take with you? It might be worth the higher ticket price to get this service!