HI Uplift: London Heli Shuttle – the next 10 years

news

by Mike Stones

19 May 2025

Ready for the return: An AW109 pictured at London Heliport before its return to Biggin Hill.

It seemed a simpler time. In April 2015, the latest handheld device was the iPhone 6, President Barack Obama was in the Oval Office and Taylor Swift had launched her 1989 World Tour. It also saw the launch of the London Heli Shuttle from London Biggin Hill Airport to London Heliport.

The service was launched to deliver two things – time and choice, according to Robert Walters, commercial director, London Biggin Hill Airport. “You can package it in different ways in terms of what type of helicopter you’re using, how many passengers it carries and how shiny the paint is,” he tells Helicopter Investor. “But ultimately, they are all delivering the same thing. You’re still getting there as soon as possible. Helicopters give you time back and offer you choices. Choices to do more work or spend more time at home.”

So, for example, the car journey from London Biggin Hill to the capital can take, depending on traffic conditions, anything up to 75 minutes. (That’s 90 minutes by public transport – involving bus and train – if you can muster the stamina). Or you can board an AgustaWestland 109 (seven passengers) or an AW139 (up to 15 passengers) operated by Castle Air. These flights take about six minutes.

It’s a key service for business aviation, providing connectivity for industry leaders, says Matthew Rice, heliport manager, London Heliport.

‘A six-minute helicopter trip’

“No other location can stake that claim and this will have been essential for overseas investors having meetings in London, providing access to London for people where time is everything,” Rice tells us. “Cutting down what can be a journey by car that should be an hour but is often longer due to traffic/roadworks and just general overpopulated roads to a six-minute trip in a helicopter makes the shuttle sell itself.”

The catalyst for the service was the arrival of operator Castle Air at London Biggin Hill Airport. Operating a fleet of 15 helicopters, the company also operates bases from Liskeard in southwest England to Kyle in Scotland.

Walters describes the relationship with Castle Air as a win-win-win – benefitting customers, the operator and the airport. “It demonstrates how airports and tenants can work in harmony together, ultimately for a common goal,” he says.

“The airport has certainly benefited from offering this fantastic service to its clients who keep coming back for more flights. Castle Air has benefited from new customers to its product, and obviously their relationship with the OEM [Leonardo Helicopters] has benefited.” The company is also the largest seller of second-hand helicopters in the UK.

It’s not just new helicopter business the service has brought to the airport known as Biggin on the Bump (once home to Spitfires and Hurricanes during the World War II Battle of Britain). It has also delivered new fixed-wing business, as clients fly in to use the heli service to London. “We have had people move their planes from other airports to Biggin Hill due to the helicopter service,” says Walters. “Also, with the proposition of attracting customers from outside the UK, New York has been a specific target audience because of their acceptance and capacity for using helicopters.”

The airport’s commercial director thinks there is more acceptance of the helicopter in the US as a part of a “multi-modal transportation choice”.

Jobs per thousand aircraft movements

While there is no direct evidence linking the helicopter service to improved employment, Walters says it has contributed to improved traffic at the airfield, which can be traced to more jobs. Over the past 10 years the airport’s jobs to per thousand aircraft movements has doubled from 44 to 88, according to planning and development specialist Lichfields. Aviation firms such as Bombardier, Pilatus and JSSI – among many – have also boosted employment.

So, can Walters see a time when eVTOLs share the apron (ramp) with helicopters at London Biggin Hill? It’s not something he would rule out – in fact the airfield is planning a huge solar farm on its land, so the availability of power would not be a problem – but there are plenty of others. “The challenge you’ve got is the short-term challenges,” he says.

“Helicopters are well understood, relatively cheap in comparison to an eVTOL when you compare their range capabilities, which still need significant development. Their cost per mile models at present are not as competitive as you would want them to be.”

‘It ticks a lot of boxes’

Rice, at London Heliport, also has his doubts. “I think for us, as I expect London Biggin Hill, while there are still questions to be answered regarding eVTOL, the route would be a perfect fit for the shuttle service. It is a short distance, a return journey without charging could be a possibility and it still provides that connectivity whilst lowering carbon emissions. It ticks a lot of boxes.”

But, he also acknowledges it is still a long way off from happening at the heliport. This is due to the relatively poor performance of eVTOL batteries, safety concerns and infrastructure questions that need addressing before operations begin. (Read our Big Interview with the London Heliport manager here).

Meanwhile, back to today’s shuttle service, helicopter travel comes at a price. The cost of London Heli Shuttle transfer from Biggin Hill to London typically starts at £2,400 plus VAT, with a fixed price for AW109 transfers and more for the larger cabin AW139 services.

There is now an option to use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Since January this year all aviation fuel at the airport is a minimum blend of 2% SAF, which will be increased in future.

Whether fuelled by SAF or conventional fuel, more than 10 years after its launch, the London Heli Shuttle is still providing a time machine service to its clients from Biggin Hill to London Heliport.

To highlight helicopters’ role as a time machine, Walters points to the billionaire owner of Berkshire Hathaway (and NetJets). “Take someone like Warren Buffett, who’s got everything, hypothetically, anyone could ever wish for. But the one thing that he really wishes for is time. You can never get it back. Our time on this planet is finite. So, the most interesting, most relevant and important thing about helicopters is the time they save.”

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