Same-day return helicopter trips: how to plan the day

Key points

• Plan backwards from your fixed commitment, and keep your return time realistic.
• Use real flight times: for example, London to Birmingham takes about 40 to 50 minutes by helicopter.
• Daylight and site opening hours limit the day, especially in winter.
• Decide early between a helicopter waiting at the destination and one that returns to collect you.
• Agree a fallback car for the return leg.

What is a same-day return trip?

A same-day return is a charter that takes you to a destination and brings you back on the same day, with a meeting, event or visit between. It is the pattern that gets the most from a helicopter: the journeys that need a full day on the road take a few hours.

Examples from our route data: London to Birmingham 40 to 50 minutes, London to Manchester 60 to 75 minutes, Bristol to Birmingham 35 to 45 minutes, Leeds to Newcastle 35 to 45 minutes. The corresponding free-flowing road times are 2 hours 26 minutes, 4 hours 9 minutes, 2 hours 11 minutes and 2 hours 21 minutes. See also same-day business trips.

How do I build the timetable?

1. Fix the meeting time. Everything else is worked from it.
2. Subtract the transfer at the destination. The time from landing site to the meeting door.
3. Subtract the flight time. Use the range, and take the upper figure for safety.
4. Subtract the 10 minutes before departure and your own journey to the departure point.
5. Add the return in reverse, with a margin for the meeting to overrun.

The result gives you a departure time and a return time. Check it against sunset and the opening hours of both sites. In winter, sunset in southern England is just before 4pm, so a late return may not be possible from an unlit site. See night and winter helicopter flying.

Should the helicopter wait or come back?

It depends on how long you will be. For a few hours, the helicopter usually waits at the destination or an airfield nearby, so you leave when you are ready. For a full day or a long lunch, it may return to base and fly back to collect you, which can reduce parking and waiting but needs a firm pick-up time. We recommend the option that suits your day and explain the effect on the quote. The article on what can change a quote covers waiting time.

What limits the length of the day?

Three things. Daylight, as noted. The pilot's duty and flying hours, which are limited by regulation, so a very long day may need a second crew or a different plan. And site hours: airfields and heliports have opening times, and private sites may be available only at set times. We check all three before we quote. For the rules behind duty limits, see who regulates helicopter flying in the UK.

What if the weather turns?

Plan the fallback before the day. The outbound flight can go and the return be affected, so agree what you will do: wait, fly from another site or take a car. A chauffeur car from our sister service Executive Global Travel can meet you at the destination. If the flight is cancelled because of the weather, you pay nothing. See weather and helicopter charter.

What are good examples of same-day return trips?

A same-day return helicopter trip works well for a range of purposes. A director leaves Birmingham, spends three hours in London and is home for dinner. A team leaves Manchester for a site visit in York, about 30 to 35 minutes each way against 1 hour 54 minutes of driving. A group leaves Bristol for Cheltenham races, about 25 to 30 minutes each way. A buyer leaves Leeds for Newcastle, about 35 to 45 minutes against 2 hours 21 minutes by road.

The pattern is the same: a fixed destination, a meeting or event in the middle, and a flight home before dark. The helicopter makes a day trip out of what would have been an overnight stay. Where the day cannot be done in one, we say so, and suggest an overnight or a shorter plan. See Leeds to Newcastle and Bristol to Birmingham for route pages.

The time you save does not only come from the flight. It comes from skipping the traffic on the motorway and the search for parking. Add to that the ability to work or rest on board, and the day becomes shorter and calmer.

What should I tell the pilot about the day?

Tell us, and through us the pilot, the exact meeting address, the time you must be there, the time you want to leave and who will be on board for each leg. Mention any chance of an overrun, any guests joining or leaving at the destination and any change to luggage. The pilot checks weather and airspace, and may suggest a small change to the timing to improve your chances. A short call before the day, to run through the plan, is time well spent. See what happens on the day for the sequence.

How do I get a same-day trip quoted?

Send us the two places, the fixed time, your expected finish, the party and the weights. Request a quote or call the line that is open 24 hours. We reply with a timetable and a fully inclusive quote.