Neither Uber nor Airbus disclosed how much a helicopter ride share might cost-but given the method of transportation its likely to be a pretty penny.
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Aircraft manufacturer Airbus is partnering with Uber to provide on-demand services called UberChopper.
The cooperation with Uber comes as Enders seeks to push innovation at the Toulouse, France-based company that makes everything from civil airplanes to military transporters.
Anyone who has the Uber app will be able to choose the helicopter option in app wherever Airbus have a chopper in range.
With the new partnership, the European aerospace company would offer Airbus H125 and H130 helicopters for Uber riders during the Sundance Film Festival, which gets underway on 21 January.
The arrangement was revealed by Airbus boss Tom Enders in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. In 2013, Uber first tested its “UberChopper” service in NY between Manhattan and the Hamptons.
The fast-growing car-hailing service is experimenting with helicopter rides in the US.
The price has varied between several hundred and several thousands of dollars, the WSJ said. Additionally, Uber will employ its cars to pick the passengers and drop them to and from the landing site.
This has resulted in slowing demand from Airbus Group’s traditional market of oil and gas companies that were once large consumers of expensive commercial helicopters.
Uber is upping the ante in the form of a new partnership.
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Last year, Enders established a $150 million fund to make technology investments in Silicon Valley.
