Vancouver executives bypass rush-hour traffic in helicopters

[Pitt Meadows, B.C.-based Sky Helicopters has a dozen people who’ve signed up for its commuting by helicopter service.]

Wealthy executives who live in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley, outside of Vancouver, are jumping aboard the trend of helicopter service as a way to commute to the city.

In January, Pitt Meadows-based Sky Helicopters started offering door-to-door commuter service, which costs $1,000 a month.

George Lacny, Sky Helicopters’ director of sales and marketing, says the company introduced the service because it was clear there was a demand. So far 12 people have signed up for the service.

“We were receiving inquiries from businesses executives and companies who wanted to utilize helicopters to bypass hours of rush-hour traffic,” he tells Yahoo Canada News. “They just pick up the phone, call to the helicopter and it’s there in 30 minutes.”

Describing it as “Uber-like,” Lacny says invoicing for the service is done beforehand, and customers are privy to their own helicopter that seats up to four people. They can be picked up from smaller regional airport hubs, or on larger estates that have enough space for a helicopter to land.

“We can often land right at their home,” he explains.

Those flying to Vancouver are dropped off at the city’s heliport station. The 40-kilometre trek from Pitt Meadows to downtown Vancouver can be done in less than 15 minutes by air.

Danny Evans, a real estate agent, recently used a helicopter to arrive at a $5.8-million property in Langley he was showing.

“The [property] owner uses it as a commuting tool and the people I was selling it to liked the idea that they could commute quickly,” he says. “If it’s an offshore buyer, they can land at the airport and whisk off to the property in no time at all.”

He says living outside the city is becoming more appealing to buyers.

“Sometimes they just want a quieter pace,” he says. “It’s almost like a mini-retreat. It almost makes more sense to live out in the Valley.”

Evans, who lives on acreage in Langley, has noticed an increase in helicopters in the area recently.

“At first I wondered what the hell is going on here,” he admits. “But when (the $5.8-million property) came up, I thought it would be a good idea.”

He says the service will only help drive up interest in an already hot real estate market.

“It will open up the Valley to a lot of new buyers who would have liked to have been there but didn’t like the commuting aspect to Vancouver,” he says.