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Comment by droob | Hacker News Reader

The big weird variable time buffer required at the airport would seem to wipe out the time you gain, right? Or, at least, what's an extra half hour when you're on the hook for two hours of security and waiting, followed by a couple-hour flight, followed by another hour of transit on the arrival side?

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since the helipad is usually inside the airports flight area you are already per-cleared at the embarkation point so as long as the helicopter makes no stops on the way you won't have to do anything at the airport.

This is very similar to how private charters operate at commercial airports they have their own security checks which are usually much much more lax than the commercial passengers.

Some airport shuttles (in some countries) also allow you to do a security precheck and to turn in your luggage prior to even reaching the airport.

I expect someone who'd use this kind of service on a regular basis would have TSA Precheck/CLEAR and priority boarding/!coach seats, possibly reducing a significant amount of waiting before the flight. This isn't just about reducing the time spent in traffic either, nor does it say anything about the possibility of something similar for travel needs on the other end. And well, flights tend to be unavoidable or the fastest way possible to go somewhere, so...

From the nostromo's comment:

>The biggest selling point was not only the short commute, but that you went through security at the helipad very quickly, rather than waiting at the airport.

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