paugom

Hello All,

I'm taking my girlfriend on a surprise overseas vacation in September. I've purchased two tickets for us on Continental leaving out of Newark (one on miles, one with cash). Our flight is around 6:30pm and we'll be leaving from the East Village.

Once I booked the flight I started to think about adding on the US Helicopter option (throw her off a little bit... ). Though I'm confused about the Continental Check-Thru. It would be super convenient to be able to check in at the Heliport (with the maybe 6 other people) and end up through security when we land in Newark, rather than cabbing it over there and waiting god knows how long to get through security.

Do I have to book the US Helicopter flight as part of my itinerary to get my bags checked through (I suspect we will both be checking a bag)? Or can I book the US Helicopter flight seperate and still deal with the Continental check-in process at the Heliport?

Thanks for your help all!

MBM3

They should be able to do this for you at the heliport, but be forwarned that they are very picky as to the size and weight of bags that they will check. There simply is not a lot of capacity for anything large or heavy, but damn is it a fun 7 minute trip! ^^

sbm12

Welcome to FlyerTalk!!

They will check you through for the flights at the heliport even if booked on a separate itinerary. And it is a ridiculously fun flight.

downright

perhaps this is applicable for you.

http://www.continental.com/web/en-US...elicopter.aspx

gbryan84

I did the same thing in May. If you are leaving on a Friday afternoon make sure there is plenty of connection time as there was a lot of heli traffic when I did this and we got out an hour late. If it werent for the experience and it being essentially free (I managed to book my trip TSS-EWR-AMS-TXL-AMS-EWR using 25k Merrill points per ticket) a bus/train ride would have been faster.

ijgordon

Really?!? The minimum connection time is something like only 20 or 30 minutes for domestic flights. USH was an HOUR late?!? I hope you got a refund or something. I would have definitely missed my flight. If I can't time the helicopter to arrive say 30-40 minutes before my flight departure, then it's not worth taking the helicopter in the first place.

J-FLyer

When I tried it out, a fellow passenger only left himself 15 mins to connect. I thought that cut it too close, but he had a back-up reservation on the next flight out. Definitely leave a cushion if you're planning a special get-away, but no need to plan for an hour delay. That can't be regular or USH would not stay in business.

ijgordon

Well, 15 minutes is absolutely too close since you are supposed to be on board by that time, and it could easily be a 10 minute walk to the departure gate from the USH arrival gate. And I thought the airlines had gotten good at preventing double-bookings...

I agree -- I can't imagine that it's even regular for a Friday afternoon. Perhaps there was a VIP in town.

EWRGirl

My boyfriend took me to Rome on a suprise engagement trip and he did this to throw me off the trail... so it definitely works.

Not sure if that's in your plans, but if you call the heliport in advance they can get you in touch with the TSA folks there so you can make it through security with no "issues" (e.g. having them search you and pull out a ring box). We were a few minutes late (left on a Friday afternoon) but it was really fun! Keep in mind it can't fly in bad weather, so with NYC weather this year it's a possibility.

Be sure to take her passport in advance so you can keep her guessing

Have a great time!

EWRGirl