[dogma1138]

For 99$ this is something that doesn't even require you to be some hedge fund brat to use. Not sure what the current cab prices are these days, but i remember paying about i think 80$ for a cab from JFK to central Manhattan. You can get it a bit cheaper if you book a car service instead of grabbing a cab from the airport but it's still not sums that would break anyone's pocket.

A taxi from central London to Heathrow can easily cost 90 quid unless it's a booked minicab which then drops it to 40-60 quid, you can take the heathrow express but thats also 40 quid both ways + additional fare to get to paddington.

I would love to use this service both for the speed and the experience (unlike the scenic traffic jam you get otherwise) just to get a sky high tour of NYC...

Too bad it's never gonna scale, there probably will be huge limits on the amount of luggage you can take (which will make it either very expensive or completely unusable for international travelers) and the costs are going to go trough the roof quick enough.

[nfoz]

> For 99$ this is something that doesn't even require you to be some hedge fund brat to use. Not sure what the current cab prices are these days, but i remember paying about i think 80$ for a cab from JFK to central Manhattan. You can get it a bit cheaper if you book a car service instead of grabbing a cab from the airport but it's still not sums that would break anyone's pocket.

You can get to LGA via public transit for $2.50 (subway+bus). For JFK there's an extra $5.00 for the airtrain.

Technologists are the new "hedge fund brats". I agree it's not a huge price-tag given how awesome it sounds compared to the similarly-priced alternatives, but let's be careful when we talk about what might "break anyone's pocket."

[dogma1138]

You can also get to Heathrow with a bus or the tube for 10 GBP, still most people either take a much more expensive train or book a car.

Getting to JFK in public transport might work for a domestic flight but i won't want to go trough NY's public transport with 2 full suit cases.

[lmm]

Tube is ~5 I think, and bus even less. But the expensive train (15GBP, still much less than $99) gets a lot of advertising and is in all the guidebooks, so many people assume it's the only way to go (plus it's owned by the airport so they try to guide you that way). I've never known anyone who'd book a car, I once took a taxi when the tube broke down and I was running late and it was GBP30 to go ~3 miles. That seems like the preserve of the super-rich.

[Nrsolis]

FWIW, I've done both trips (tube vs. Heathrow Express) and I much prefer Heathrow Express.

When I travel it's usually for business and the time savings of the Express vs. the Tube just makes it a complete no-brainer for me.

People often complain that it's a very expensive and very short train ride but they forget that the short travel time is a FEATURE.

[lmm]

It's not a short time because the train's fast, it's short because it's not very far. And the claimed speed advantage is based on a somewhat gerrymandered definition of "central london".

The express is sometimes worth it, but it very much depends on where you're going; the express simply dumps you out at Paddington which does not have great onward connections. Whereas the Piccadilly line, being a tube line that goes right through the centre, can often take you directly where you want to go (particularly as a tourist) - Piccadilly itself, Leicester Square, Covent Garden, Kings Cross, ...

[Nrsolis]

None of this matters much to me since I'm often staying someplace close to Paddington and/or Mayfair. If I'm not staying there, I'm off to Canary Wharf and it's a taxi ride no matter what.

If you're fine with lugging baggage up and down the tube stairwells, then fine by you, but I prefer the Express for any number of reasons and time of travel/distance traveled isn't the sole determinant of my choice.

[RijilV]

Why does international flight mean 2 full suit cases? Seriously I'm 12 days in on a 14 day business trip across 'the pond' with a half sized roller board and that includes both the work laptop and a personal one, juggling props (hey come'on it's Europe) and running gear.

For business I figure if the privatized transport from the airport is 1/2 as long and not silly costs I'll expense it without guilt. At supposedly $99 from JFK it sounds legit for a short business trip. Granted they claim PMV, so YMMV.

[PhantomGremlin]

> Why does international flight mean 2 full suit cases?

Certainly 1 full suitcase?

Shirts, pants, socks, underwear, perhaps a suit or two, and a pair of extra shoes? I can easily fill a suitcase with that stuff.

Do you do laundry on your trip? That would certainly significantly reduce the quantity of clothes required. Now that all airlines are charging per bag (previously all airlines allowed two free bags) it probably makes more sense to figure out how to wash clothes abroad than to lug around a lot of extra clothing.

[ghaff]

Take a little jar of soap and wash out the stuff that needs washing out. For a 2 week trip, I'd admittedly typically check luggage though. A lot depends on the details of the trip and the climate.

[ghaff]

OT but I've never really understood the Heathrow Express economics--and I've asked Londoners and they've never been able to give a good explanation either. I take the Piccadilly line in and I've never understood the justification for taking the Express. Maybe if I were staying right around Paddington but not if I'm going to have to take the tube or a taxi anyway.

[dogma1138]

I live these days 15 min of lazy walk from Paddington and i prefer the express over a car due to the fact that it's much quicker.

There is the connect which is about 60-70% of the rate of the Express but it tends not to run late at night, and every time there are any works done on the line it takes a back seat to the express.

The problem with the Piccadilly line is that it takes ages, it doesn't run late (service stops around 11pm and doesn't renew till about 5.30ish iirc) and it's the most delayed line of the tube system, especially the parts towards Heathrow. So many people don't take it, most people that do are young people that take it during the middle of the day since it's also when most of the low cost airliners operate.

I think that most people in London at this point are just used to paying the premium of living in London even tho at this point i don't really see a point for that. The salaries are double at least than pretty much anywhere else in the UK, but the cost of living is also at least as high.

[mason55]

I only go to London on business travel so price isn't as big of a deal but I take the Heathrow Express for time purposes. In morning traffic after the red eye from NYC it's much faster than either a cab or the tube.

[dogma1138]

OT but check the flights from NYC to City Airport they are much better than anything you can get from/to Heathrow unless you are flying with mile high club ;)

[mason55]

The only flights I'm aware of that fly NYC-LCY are the BA flights that are all business. The nice thing is that you get to pre-clear immigration in Shannon, Ireland but unfortunately I'm not quite important enough to demand $10k flights.

[yuliyp]

The exchange rate from your money to Other People's Money is very significant

[ghaff]

I'm sure that's true. Though even when I'm spending Other People's Money I tend to avoid gratuitously burning it when I legitimately don't care. As I was discussing with someone this past week, I'm probably something of an exception--or at least have somewhat different priorities about things I care about.

[robk]

It's much cheaper with a Network Railcard - 22.40 roundtrip. With all HEX tickets, you can use them in any direction (i.e., it's two unlimited one ways basically) and the first is good for 3 days, the second "return" one good for 30 days, so I usually keep a few active for regular trips. 11.20 each isn't bad at all vs Uber if you're time sensitive and already nearish to Paddington.

[joshvm]

Tube costs under a fiver (~hour). National express costs around a tenner (~half hour). If you take a non-booked taxi from an airport and it's not an emergency then you're a fool or rich, frankly.

$500+ a week (double that for the return) is a phenomenal amount of money to spend on commuting. If you value your time at $50 an hour and someone else is paying, then sure it may be worth it, but this won't scale simply because its impractically expensive for most people.

But I agree, $99 for a helicopter ride over New York is probably a lot cheaper than the experience companies.

[dogma1138]

Well i look at it from a point of view that people who'll use this service will either be people who can expense it as a business expense (some one else pays) or people who cam to NY as tourist which means they've already dumped couple of 1000's of dollars at least on their experience.

If i would go to NY for fun i would consider this as part of the tour, if i go there on business as i usually do it would be quite hard for me to expense it not because of the price but because i would have to put a helicopter ride on the expense report which might raise more than a few eyebrows at work...

[brentm]

Uber from lower Manhattan to JFK is ~$60. Most of the time it won't take more than 45 minutes. The 2 hours they are pushing here is likely talking driving in heavy traffic or taking public transportation.