Short Helicopter Loop for Liberty, Longer One for Coney Island
Charm Aviation flies three lengths off Pier 6, and the minutes you buy decide how far up the rivers the loop runs.
The Downtown Manhattan Heliport sits on a pier below the Financial District, next to the Brooklyn Bridge. Charm Aviation lists its hours at that pad as Monday through Saturday, 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM. The heliport operator posts a narrower rule for sightseeing: tourist flights are permitted 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM only, and none at all on Sunday. Treat a slot after 5:00 PM as something to confirm before you pay.
Flights are shared unless you buy out the whole cabin. The only route decision you make is how many minutes you book. Everything else, including which seat you get, is settled at the heliport.
Klook sells this flight under Charm Aviation's own name, with the length chosen at checkout. Pick that first. The lengths on the listing run from 15 to 30 minutes.
New York City Helicopter Ride from Charm AviationCharm Aviation · 15 to 30 minutes · Shared cabin, six seatsaffiliate.klook.comHow Far the Loop Goes
Charm publishes a landmark list for each of its three shared routes, and the lists nest. The Manhattan Tour counts 17 landmarks, the Big Apple Tour 22, the Empire Tour 25.
All three open the same way. Out over New York Harbor to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, up the Hudson past One World Trade Center, Chelsea Piers and the Intrepid, then across Midtown for the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center and the lower end of Central Park. That is the entire 12 to 15 minute route.
The five landmarks the Big Apple Tour adds all sit north: the New Jersey Palisades, the George Washington Bridge, Columbia University, the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, and Yankee Stadium.
The Empire Tour adds three in the opposite direction, out over Brooklyn to the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and Coney Island. Weather and air traffic can shorten any of them.
Six Seats, and You Do Not Pick Yours
Charm flies the Airbus AS350 B2 and the Bell 407, single-engine aircraft that seat six passengers plus the pilot. The cabin is climate controlled, every seat has a noise-cancelling Bose headset, and the pilot narrates the route live through it.
Seat assignments are set by weight and balance, and Charm states they cannot be guaranteed. Riders describe the AS350 rear bench as four across, which leaves the two interior seats looking past other passengers. One Klook reviewer wrote that those passengers "have to share windows view of others." Two couples sharing a cabin have reported four window seats between them. Six people in the same cabin will not get that.
Passengers over 275 pounds, or 124 kilograms, are asked to buy a second seat at full price. Shared departures also carry a minimum passenger count. When a slot does not fill, Charm offers a reschedule or an upgrade to a private flight.
Thirty Minutes Before, at the Locker
Check-in closes 30 minutes before departure, and that half hour is working time. It covers identification, the safety briefing and the locker. Arriving late carries a USD 50 charge per passenger, and Charm states it may not hold the flight or refund it.
Charm lists a heliport fee of USD 40 per seat on top of the seat price. Confirm whether the booking you make already covers that. Riders have reported being asked for it on arrival.
Bring a passport, driver's license, state ID or another government-issued photo ID. A camera, a phone and glasses go aboard; purses, bags, camera bags, scarves, hats and other loose clothing stay behind in a secure locker. Children under two ride free on an adult's lap. From their second birthday they need a seat of their own, and Charm asks for proof of age.
Getting to Pier 6
🚇 The address is 6 East River Piers, and Charm describes the pad as a few minutes' walk from South Ferry, the last stop on the 1 train downtown. The heliport operator also lists Whitehall Street on the R and W as a nearby stop. Typing "Downtown Manhattan Heliport" into a phone map lands you at the gate, though the site now trades as Downtown Skyport.
Charm says there is no passenger parking at the heliport. It points drivers to garages within walking distance at 55 Water Street, 1 New York Plaza and 1 Whitehall Street.
These flights are weather-dependent. Charm monitors conditions and contacts passengers when something changes, and a cancellation on its side comes with a full refund or a reschedule at no extra cost. Cancelling or rescheduling yourself inside 24 hours is charged in full.
A late-morning or early-afternoon slot sits well inside the sightseeing window and puts you back on the pier with the day still open, The Battery a short walk up the promenade.