Uber Copter $ 200 trips to JFK will be available for all October 3 (updated)

Depending on demand, the eight-minute flight to or from JFK with Uber Copter will set you back between $ 200 and $ 225. Included in this fee are ground transportation on each side of the helicopter. At first glance, there is a lot of money to pay for traveling between Manhattan and Queens. However, as Reuters notes, it is about what to expect from competing services, many of which do not include free ground transportation.

Whether Uber Copter will save you time is another matter. Reuters states that it took one of its reporters about 70 minutes to get from the publication's office in Midtown Manhattan to JFK using Uber Copter. That's because they still needed to use public transport and two Uber rides to get to and from the helicopter space. Whether you take public transport or a car, it's about time to get to JFK anyway. Uber claims travel times will be shortened as the company begins to service the service from several helicopter ports across Manhattan. At the moment, Uber Copter is launching a single helipad near the Staten Island Ferry, towards the southern tip of the island.

Back when it first launched Uber Copter, a company spokesman told Engadget Uber the service looked like a way to work on Uber Air, the company's upcoming electric flight taxi service. "We've built the Uber Copter to give us real-world insight and experience as we continue to lay the foundations for Uber Air," they said at the time. Uber plans to launch Uber Air in Los Angeles, Dallas and Melbourne, Australia in 2023.

Updated 1[ads1]0/3 12:27 PM ET : An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Uber Copter would launch October 7th. It is launched today.