Planning a helicopter roadshow or multi-stop business day

Key points

• A multi-stop day works when flights are 30 to 90 minutes and meetings are fixed in advance.
• Use real flight times for each leg, then add buffers for boarding, landing and ground transfer.
• Daylight limits the day in winter; the first departure should be early.
• Check landing sites for every stop. Each one needs permission or a nearby airfield.
• Agree a fallback car for any leg, in case weather closes a stop.

What is a helicopter roadshow?

A helicopter roadshow is a charter that visits several cities or sites in one day, for example a leadership team presenting to clients, an investor tour of regional offices or a sales team visiting dealers. The helicopter carries the team and stays with them, so the schedule is theirs.

It rests on one advantage: a helicopter flies between city centres or nearby airfields without detours. Our same-day business trips page covers the pattern, and the business case article shows how to justify it.

What does a realistic itinerary look like?

Here is an illustration built from our route figures. It is an example of the method, not an offer. A team leaves Birmingham, meets clients in Manchester, continues to Leeds and returns.

Flying time adds up to under two hours, against around six hours of driving in the best conditions. That leaves time for meetings of an hour or more in each city. The same method works for a southern loop such as Bristol, Birmingham and London, where our figures give Bristol to Birmingham at about 35 to 45 minutes and Birmingham to London at about 40 to 50 minutes. Our Birmingham to Manchester and Birmingham to Leeds route pages show each leg in detail.

How long should each stop be?

Think in blocks. Each stop needs a landing, a transfer to the venue, the meeting, a transfer back and a departure. Allow a margin at each end, because a delay compounds across the day. A good rule is to leave real slack between stops and to protect the last leg, since the daylight and duty limits are hard.

The pilot also has a limit on flying hours and duty time in a day. A very long roadshow may need a second crew or a change of plan, and we tell you at quotation rather than on the day. Passengers also need breaks, so build in lunch.

What about landing sites and ground transport?

Every stop needs a place to land and a way to the venue. Where your client has a suitable site, we request permission. Where it does not, we use the nearest airfield or heliport from our directory of UK heliports and airfields and arrange a short car transfer with Executive Global Travel. Landing at private sites is subject to permission and site suitability, and we confirm each one before the day.

Think about the order of stops too. Putting a site that is weather-exposed or permission-dependent first lets you reorganise the rest of the day if it fails.

What if the weather changes the plan?

Roadshows are more exposed to weather than single trips, because one cancelled leg affects the whole day. We check the forecast for each stop, agree a go/no-go time on the morning and keep a fallback. If the flight is cancelled because of the weather, you pay nothing, but the meetings still matter, so we plan what moves to video, what moves to a car and what is dropped. Read weather and helicopter charter before you commit.

What makes a roadshow go wrong?

Three things. First, too many stops: each extra stop adds a landing, a transfer and a margin, and the day compresses until one delay breaks it. Second, fixed times with no slack: a meeting booked for the minute the helicopter lands will start late. Third, an untested site: a venue that has not confirmed landing permission by the day before is a risk.

The remedy is to plan fewer stops, build slack between them and confirm every site early. Keep the most important meeting early in the day, when the weather and the schedule are most reliable. Brief everyone on the order and the timings, and name a team member who watches the clock. Our planning for a helicopter roadshow follows these principles, and we are blunt when a plan is too tight. See same-day return trips for the simpler out-and-back version.

Who should be in the party?

Keep the party small and committed. Every extra person adds weight, boarding time and the chance of a late arrival, and a roadshow only works if the aircraft leaves on time. Eight people is the ceiling in our largest aircraft, and with luggage and presentation kit the practical number is often lower. Appoint one person to keep time, one to carry the paperwork and one to handle the hosts at each stop. A short written itinerary, shared in advance, saves a surprising number of phone calls on the day.

How do I get a roadshow quoted?

Send us the cities, the fixed meeting times, the party size and weights and any venue constraints. We design the day and quote it in full. Request a quote or call us on the line that is open 24 hours. If you are moving more than eight people, see moving a large group by helicopter.