Liberty Helicopter

While any helicopter ride is pretty thrilling, this one was underwhelming. The build up felt like we were in prison, being told to sit on hard benches to move out of the aisle and then to stand in a crowded group for 10 minutes to watch the safety video. All in all, preparation time was about one very unpleasant hour long. The ride itself felt like the bare minimum, 5 minutes up and 5 minutes down, over water the entire time. The helicopter had stuff on the windshield so the views were impaired. The narration was uninspired and bored. We were told that other companies had newer copters, and were better companies. By the time a Dad has taken his entire family for a ride, the cost is several hundred dollars. Would not do it in NYC again.

This tour was misleading. it was not the time it stated but instead barely 8 minutes long. We did not get close to the landmarks as described on the website. Save your money! Not worth the wait or the cost!

We did the 15′ tour on a Sunday. The tour actually lasted 13′.
I called in the morning to check if they had a slot available for noon and they were able to put us at 12:15. We paid directly over the phone. I was actually afraid to book the tour in advance in case it would be rainy and I was happy to see we could book for the same day.
We were delayed half an hour and knowing that we are supposed to arrive half an hour earlier, we waited 1 hour there in total.
Apparently it is common that they run late, but as soon as we arrived they informed us of the waiting time and asked if it was fine for us or if we wanted a refund.
We were paired with a group of 4 so we got to be seated at the front. The plane has 6 seats (beside the pilot): 2 in the front and a row of 4 in the back.
Regarding the tour itself it was quite impressive to have a view of Manhattan from the sky. Even when we think we know the city we were completely amazed by the perspectives from above.
Wifey really really loved the tour. As for me I was just slightly disappointed as it passed by so fast. Also I was sad we could not get closer and stayed on the Hudson River side only, and hence see the city from the side only.
PS: a tip to access Pier 6 is to arrive by the Whitehall terminal ferry and walk along to the pier, this way you’re not trapped by the FDR.

Staff was really friendly and professional. Wait time was only 20 minutes. Would definitely do this tour again.

The view I got was absolutely amazing. But my pictures all came out surprising poor looking through the helicopter’s glass.
So based on my experience, I would say: If you want to go to enjoy the moment, it’s worth it. But if you want to go to be able to show people pictures, it’s not worth it.

Rude customer service and they treat you like a herd of animals. I don’t want to leave a rate but I have to.

This was a rushed trip around Manhattan. While there was commentary it was not clear what was being pointed out. The person the middle seat in the back is at a disadvantage.

Wer keine Lust hat sich in Schlangen für das Empire State Building oder das Top of the Rocks (Rockefeller Center) anzustellen, hat mit einem Helicopterflug eine tolle Alternative für Panoramabilder von New York.
Ich selbst war erstaunt als ich am Heliport ankam, denn ich hatte 2 – 3 Hubschrauber erwartet die dort die Touren durchführen. Tatsächlich standen dort, mit laufendem Rotor, 9 Helis die gerade Passagiere aufnahmen, andere befanden sich sichtbar im Anflug. Weitere waren gerade auf Tour. Es hatte wirklich etwas von einem Bienenschwarm. Offensichtlich veranstalten dort mindestens 3 Firmen Ihre Sightseeinig Hubschrauberrundflüge. Alles war toll gut organisiert, auf Sicherheit wurde sehr stark geachtet und es ging pünktlich los.
Der rote Hubschrauber von Liberty Helicopter nahm neben dem Piloten 6 Passagiere auf und der Flug dauerte 28 Minuten, es war aber auch die große Tour. Eine Runde über Gouvernors Island, um die Freiheitsstatue, den Hudson rauf am Financial District vorbei, dann bis zur George Washington Brücke über dem Hudson River. Dort die Wende und wieder zurück bis nach Jersey und dann Landeanflug auf den Heliport.
Verständlicherweise hat der Spaß seinen Preis, der mit 215 $ pP und einer Sicherheitsgebühr am Helicopter-​Flughafen von 50 $ pP zu Buche schlägt. Ich würde dies jederzeit wieder buchen.

Ok! Longest wait in the «line» time! If you have a few hours to waste while in NY! It’s the place to go! Enjoy!

I bought a Living Social deal for a 15 min helicopter tour that came with a picture. They told us to get there half hour before our tour time. Once we got there we had to show them our IDs and watch a safety video. Then they took in a line to the chopper, before you board they take your picture which you can purchase later.
The ride was amazing, the views were beautiful and you get to see a lot in 15 minutes. You start by seeing the Statue of Liberty as you head through downtown then the garden as you head to midtown. You get to see a lot and as a New Yorker I knew where to look and what I was looking at but I felt bad for the other people there since they were tourist and the pilot didn’t really say much or explain the sites.
Overall it was a great experience.

Great way to see New York. The experience was great. The pilot was nice and funny. Downside the reason I’m giving it only 3 stars is because they aloud a 1 month old baby and a 9 month old baby to come in the helicopter. My boyfriend brought myself and his father. We paid a lot of money for this and all I heard the entire 15min was two kids screaming their heads off. I wish they had an age range and why would parents do that in the first place? Common sense the helicopter is loud and they couldn’t even put the head phones on the children as they were to big.
They should really consider an age range on the flights. The screaming ruined it for us. They could at least had given us the souvenir photo for free (20 $ vAlue) after We had to hear all that screaming. I told the staff working and they just laughed and said have a good day. I will not return with mg parents when they come to visit.

Wer schon einmal in New York ist sollte es sich nicht entgehen lassen die Stadt von oben zu betrachten. Hierfür werden reichlich Helikopterflüge angeboten. Wir hatten unsere bereits in Deutschland übers Reisebüro gebucht.
Den ersten Termin verschoben wir wegen des schlechten Wetters. Beim zweiten Termin schien uns der Wettergott gewogen zu sein jedoch war wegen irgendeiner politischen Geschichte der Helikopterplatz gesperrt und unsere Abflugzeit verzögerte sich um 4 Stunden. Geflogen sind wir dann trotzdem wenn auch im strömenden Regen. Somit knnten wir leider nicht allzuviel sehen aber für einen groben Überblick reichte es und ein einmaliges Erlebnis war es allemal. Nächstes Mal hoffentlich im Sonnenschein :-)

Surprised my wife for our anniversary gift! Before dinner, I told her I wanted to take her to a place and she actually thought it was a bar! Had to wait a bit but definitely worth the experience.
We took the 18 — 20minute tour which included Yankees stadium, George Washington bridge, Weehawken and jersey city, Governors Island etc.
Great for special occasions or family members from out of the country!

Dont bother for the $$. You get to fly over the river on the front end of the trip, and over NJ coming back. I saw as much of NYC when I flew in from OH from my window seat on the plane. Its like a roller coaster ride at an amusement park… you wait for hours (even with a reso) and its over in 15 – 20 minutes. MUCH better ways to spend your money in NYC.

Superbe expérience !! Un truc de dingue !! Le pilote très kool et donnant des explications en vol, les 15 minutes promises sont plus que respectées et ils offrent des services comme la prise de photo au décollage. Nous y sommes aller vers 10h, pas d’attente, un ciel bleu et pas de vent. Que du bonheur !
Visité en mars 2014
Magnificent experience !! Is very crasy The pilot very kool and giving explanations in flight, the promised 15 minutes are more than respected and they offer services as the grip of photo to the takeoff. We are to go at about 10 am, no wait, a blue sky and no wind there. That of the happiness!
Visited in March, 2014 !

Ein super erlebnis, das bleibende eindrücke hinterlässt. 20 sicherlich kostspielige minuten, die aber absolut lohnenswert sind. Wir hatten einen super piloten, der sehr unterhaltsam die sehenswürdigkeiten und die stadt erklärte. Wir hatten das glück einen private flug zu geniessen, so dass wir die sitzplätze frei wählen konnten und auch bleibende erinnerungen mit dem eigenen foto equipment schiessen konnten

Awesome tour of the city. Specially during cold season, its really a good way to see NYC. They were really nice. Recommend it.

I GOT TO FLY OVER NEW YORK CITY IN A HELICOPTER!!! Do I really need to say anything else?!!
The front desk staff were borderline rude, something I’m used to from Australian customer service but not here in the U.S. But once you get past the ladies, the guys prepping and leading you through to the helicopter were all great. The only reason I deducted a star was in sympathy for the guys sitting in the middle seats but he had as big a shit-​eating grin as the rest of us on so I guess he was doing OK.
The pilot was informative and actually funny (not the usual cheesy tour-​guide funny), and we got a great view over all the sights you would want to see. An absolute dream opportunity & if you can, do it!

Wir waren im September 2013 in NY und haben übers Reisebüro eine Manhattan Tour bei Liberty Helicopter gebucht. Als wir am Pier ankamen, wurden wir sehr freundlich empfangen. Nach dem wir uns angemeldet haben, ein Sicherheitsvideo anschauen mussten und durch die Sicherheitskontrolle gegangen sind ging es auch gleich los! Dies alles dauerte ca. 30 min. Also sollte man auch gute 30 Minuten vorher dort sein. Am Heli hat man dann mit unsere Kamera ein Foto von uns gemacht. Das fanden wir echt super, da man sonst immer dafür zahlen muss. Da man vorher nach seinem Gewicht gefragt wurde, muss man sich jetzt nun nach Gewichtsverteilung in den Heli setzen. Daher durften wir es uns nicht aussuchen wo wir sitzen. Aber natürlich saßen wir nebeneinander. Unser Pilot war echt super und locker drauf. Hat sich vorgestellt, uns immer gefragt ob alles klar ist und uns Mega viel während des Fluges über NY erzählt! Also echt Top. Man sieht die Skyline von NYC von oben und es ist echt der Hammer. Ein kleines Manko gab es aber. Genau zu unserem Zeitpunkt war der Präsident Höhe des Central Parks und dort deswegen ein Flugverbot. Deswegen dauerte der Flug statt 15min nur 12min. Aber der Preis blieb gleich. Aber der Pilot hat dies wieder wett gemacht. Also wir können diesen Ausflug nur weiterempfehlen.

Haben zu Anfang unseres Trips den Rundflug gemacht, wir waren total begeistert! Es gab einige wahnsinnig gute Fotos absolutes Erlebnis für Fotofans. Abwicklung und Crew waren auch sehr nett.

It was over in a flash, but the copter got reasonable close to the statue
There might have been too much time spent flying on the river/​new jersey

The helicopter tour is a great way to get a good view over NYC and a nice experience, if you didn’t use a helicopter before.
They are processing costumers in a tent, which was fine. In the beginning you have to give your weight and then they say, they will balance the helicopter accordingly, but it doesn’t seem to matter too much. So you don’t have to be afraid, not to be placed next to the person you came with for balance reasons.
Then you have to lock your stuff in a locker, watch a brief safety-​advise video and put on your emergency equipment. Our flight was scheduled for Saturday afternoon and I expected it to be crowded and to wait for a long time, but we have actually been in the air, basically without any real waiting time, even before our actual reservation time. (You have to be there 30 min before your scheduled time. We have been there in time, but I’m not sure, if they are too strict about being very punctual.)
Then you walk outside in line with the other passengers (usually 6 overall) to the helicopter. There will be enough time to take pictures before and after the helicopter ride. The staff is also very helpful and will take your picture.
Liberty H seems to have more helicopters with seats next to each other, while some other companies seem to have helicopters where you sit opposed, which gives the advantage that everyone sits at the window. I preferred Liberty, because I wanted to sit next to not oppose to my girlfriend, while being in the air. Sitting in the middle, you have a limited view out of the side window, but you can see somewhat better through the front window.
The helicopter goes along the Hudson river, makes a circle behind the central park and returns above the Hudson. So you can not sit on the wrong side, you will see the city either in the beginning (right side) or on the way back.
The pilot provides information through the headphones everyone is wearing. It is a nice idea, but I didn’t understand everything.
The experience and all the photos were well worth the price (165 $ incl. tax/​fee/​discount per person) and I recommend to do it.

Don’t bother! 2 stars because a helicopter around NYC is cool… The Liberty experience was poor.
The site FAQ says «Yes reservations are mandatory for all helicopter tours.». Reservations are worthless and clearly not mandatory. 2 hours after our reservation time we got into a helicopter. Lots of rude excuses and we shared a helicopter with people who had walked up and waited in the same line (they were told 45 minutes wait but had the 2 hour wait like us). To add to this, the walk up people had paid for the shorter tour but got the longer tour because we’d paid for it… lucky them i guess.
Just turn up at pier 6 and pick any of the other companies that operate from there. Don’t do a reservation and don’t believe any wait times you’re given.

My friend and I scheduled a helicopter ride the Friday after driving over the Verrazano Bridge on our way from Six Flags and seeing a couple of helicopters in the air. We both proclaimed at the same time: «I always wanted to do that!» And so, we did!
That Friday we had a 4:45pm ride scheduled (the last of the day). I believe we did the NY, NY tour. It was just alright. Other than being able to ride in the front seat of the helicopter, talk to the pilot, and feel like the co-​pilot, there was nothing spectacular.
Yes, we saw the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge (and all main bridges from one standing), and the WTC site. However, I felt like the pilot could have done a little bit more talking and interacting with the people on board.
Overall, it was a pretty pricey, once in a lifetime experience!

Having done several helicopter tours in different places I was very impressed with the professionalism of this tour. I took a 20 minute tour with the family when they were visiting.
The driver was great, very chatty and sharing lots of information. He informed us we were in the Farrari of helicopters before turning us completely on our side. I love a bit of scaring so this was perfect for us.
The views were amazing and they played an audio guide to the sights as we passed.
This would get 5 stars if it wasn’t for the fact we’d been told we’d be in a four seater helicopter (as a family of four) and we were put in a six with two incredibly irritating shared passengers. If we could have chucked them out it would have been perfect.

Was noch gesagt werden muss: Top Piloten von der Armee ausgebildet mit einem Englisch was ich als Touri auch super verstanden habe. Bitte etwas Zeit für die Securitychecks einplanen.

We went on our first ever helicopter tour with Liberty yesterday, and it was awesome! In mid-​November, I highly recommend booking at time around 4:30pm because then you get to enjoy both the daylight views, incredible sunset views, AND night views of Manhattan. It was so cool flying up close to the Statue of Liberty and watching the skyline from a whole new angle. I thought I would get «plane sickness» because the helicopter looked so small, but I was happily surprised when taking off and landing were both such a cool feeling and not scary at all.
My only criticisms would be that our guide was not all that enthusiastic (I know he’s probably given the tour a million times, but still) and the security people were really mean when my boyfriend stepped slightly out of the «safe» walking zone (I guess that’s what they’re paid to do…)
Bring a nice camera and be careful if you are wearing hats or scarves; mine almost blew away!

Ein Wahnsinns Erlebnis, kann ich jedem nur empfehlen, der in New York ist. Die Wartezeit war relativ gering und die Leute waren super sympathisch.

Ein ganz besonderes und unvergessliches Erlebnis in New York! ich habe den Rundflug bereits 2 x bei toller Sicht gemacht, 1 x am Tag und 1 x bei Beginn der Dämmerung mit den viiiiiielen Lichtern! Meine Empfehlung ist ihn bei Beginn des Urlaubs zu machen, da man damit als Einstieg einen tollen Überblick über New York erhält. Ist auf jeden Fall seinen Preis wert!

Jeder, der nach New York will, sollte dafür ein extra Sparschwein aufstellen, um das mitmachen zu können. Es war unser erster Helikopterflug. Es war der Wahnsinn. Wir hatten Traumwetter und einen super Blick. Ein tolles Ereignis, was wir nie vergessen werden. Tipp: etwas früher nach Downtown fahren und dort nochmal das Pier 17 anschauen! Es ist wunderschön dort, man hat einen tollen Blick auf die Brooklyn Bridge und man hatte dort mal kurz eine herrliche Ruhe!

SUPER!!!
Das war ein echtes Highlight mit dem Helicopter den Hudsen entlang zu fliegen und den Blick auf New York zu haben. Dann noch der Flug auf Augenhöhe rund um die Freiheitsstatue.
Ich bin begeistert.

Un prix dissuasif, certes 79 $ pour 3 minutes, c’est élevé, mais vous garderez en tête de très belles images (à immortaliser, donc). Les personnes au budget plus large bénéficieront d’une vue exceptionnelle, et ils né le regretteront pas, même si évidemment les hélicoptères né peuvent survoler Manhattan mais juste longer l’île).

Ein Wahnsinnserlebnis, mit dem Heli über New York zu fliegen.
Tip: Versucht immer den Flug kurz vor der Dämmerung zu planen, denn ein Sonnenuntergang über NY aus dem Heli Das ist etwas ganz Besonderes.

Une vision complètement magique de New-​York et Manhattan!
Vous vous envolez à l’américaine en survolant de prêt la rivière puis vous montez pour voire d’un peu plus haut Manhattan et la statue de la liberté.
C’est tout simplement un tour en Hélicoptère que je n’oublierais jamais et dont je garderais les images vidéo très longtemps.
Comment né pas être surexcité quand vous survolez tous les lieux mythiques de l’île et que vous voyez la superficie hallucinante de New-​York.
Le prix est de 140 dollars par personnes mais ça vaut vraiment le coup!