Have you ever been stuck in traffic and wondered why couldn’t just fly over all that gridlock? Well, for a time, you could. The story of New York Airways is a fascinating one, and one that ends in tragedy.
Helicopters captured the imagination of postwar America in a big way. Few actually believed that everyone would have a chopper in their driveway, but many saw an opportunity as a system of public transportation. Helicopters could take off and land in a much wider variety of places than airplanes but travel much faster than buses or trains. New York Airways started as a mail carrier in 1949 but in 1953 began offering passenger service.
New York Airways, at its peak, served a half dozen locations in metro New York. Its most famous route was from the top of the Pan Am building (now the Metlife building) adjacent to Grand Central to JFK airport. This way, you arrive at Grand Central by train and be only a brief helicopter ride from your airplane. This service only lasted from 1965 to 1968 and for a brief period in 1977 (we’ll get to that later). Passengers could enjoy a wonderful view of the city as they breezed over all the traffic.
NYA’s business model was somewhat shaky from a financial standpoint. In 1963, they had operating revenue of $3.9 million, including a $2.2 million federal subsidy. Helicopters are not very fuel efficient. A flight from Manhattan to JFK cost almost $60 in today’s money, so this was really a way for business executives to shave a few minutes from their trips to the airport and avoid the filthy subways. But things worked well for a while, but then…
On May 16, 1977, a New York Airways Sikorsky S-61 was landing on top of the Pan Am building. Suddenly, the landing gear collapsed on one side. The helicopter toppled onto one side and 4 people died from the spinning blades, including Movie Director Michael Findlay, and falling debris killed one person on the sidewalk at street level. New York Airways would never recover from this accident. Compounding this was the rising price of fuel. This forced the closure of the Pan Am building’s heliport. On April 18, 1979, a Sikorsky S-61 taking off from Newark Airport experienced a failure of its tail rotor. In the ensuing crash, 3 people died and 13 were injured. On that day, New York Airways ceased flying. A month later, the company filed for bankruptcy.
Attempts to revive scheduled helicopter service, including one by a Mr. Donald Trump, failed. Despite this, helicopter traffic has surged in New York thanks to sightseeing and corporate charter flights. Other companies that offered similar service in other cities also failed under similar circumstances. Just like Concorde, it was a case of transportation optimism getting ahead of economic realities. I would assume however that battery powered helicopters could make this feasible once again by eliminating the tremendous fuel and maintenance costs, but that’s just speculation, so for the time being, we’re still grounded.