'Air Taxis' go from Pudong to Jinshan in 20 minutes

A trial flight connecting Shanghai Pudong to southwest Jinshan District and then on to Haining in Zhejiang Province was conducted on September 23.

This new bi-directional low-altitude helicopter passenger route is all about saving time. For instance, it takes less than 20 minutes to fly from Jinshan to Pudong's Xingye flight base (New Sky).

In contrast, driving from the Jinshan water airport to Pudong international airport usually takes 1 hour and 20 minutes, assuming there's no traffic jam. Even if you take into account the 25-minute shuttle ride from Pudong's Xingye flight base to Pudong international airport, passengers can still cut their travel time by almost half.

"The helicopter took off from Pudong's Xingye flight base at 7:32am and landed at Shanghai Jinshan water airport at 7:48am, taking just 16 minutes," said Captain Xu Jianjun, who piloted the trial flight. "And we took off from Shanghai Jinshan water airport at 8am and landed in Haining before 8:20am."

The starting fare for the Pudong-Jinshan one-way trip is over 1,400 yuan (US$200). Chartering the entire aircraft costs more than 6,000 yuan per trip, accommodating up to four passengers, and each person can bring one 20-inch suitcase weighing up to 15 kilograms.

Prices are expected to decrease after more such flights are launched in the future.