Airline to offer commutes by helicopter

Shenzhen residents may soon have another way to get to Guangzhou: A local airline says it will launch a service to carry passengers between the cities by helicopter.

The service, being developed by Astro Air, is expected to shorten travel time between the two cities in Guangdong province by an hour, compared with a regular train. It would be roughly comparable to high-speed rail service, which takes about 35 minutes.

The airline says it will begin examining flight conditions along the new route this month and start to offer the service as early as September.

Passengers will take off from the roof of Excellence Century Center in Shenzhen's central business district and land on Guangzhou's Zhujiang New Town.

Zhu Zilin, deputy head of planning at Astro Air, said the new service will satisfy the demand of a large number of high-end businesspeople in the two cities.

"We are planning to offer one or two flights per day," he said.

A staff member in Astro Air's marketing department said the company is committed to being affordable. "We hope ordinary people can afford to enjoy our helicopter service," he said.

The airline also plans to launch cross-border shuttle services to Hong Kong and Macao. It is currently waiting for approval but is expected to make trial flights this year, the company said.

"The number of business trips between Shenzhen and Hong Kong is very large. Many businesspeople require one-day commuting. Therefore, transportation convenience becomes increasingly important," Zhu said.

Other helicopter services currently fly between Shen-zhen and Macao. According to Shenzhen Airport Group, 12 flights operate between the two cities daily, each taking 15 minutes. The cost is around 4,300 yuan ($692) per flight.

Shenzhen residents, meanwhile, are not so excited.

"The service is not suitable for working class people like me, since the primary factor for me is price," said Xing Huan, a 32-year-old architectural designer.

"Obviously, the helicopter travel is not going to be cheap."

Xing said that since the transportation network between Shenzhen and Guangzhou is already highly developed, with only about 35 minutes' ride by high-speed train, there is no need for such a high-end service.

Apart from intercity shuttle service, Astro Air has also introduced a sightseeing service inside the city. Passengers in Shenzhen will be able to look around the city from the sky. That service is expected to begin operations on Saturday.

sally@chinadailyhk.com