Ups and Downs in Phuket Airspace
A different view: Coral reef at Phi Phi, from the air.
You would think that with all the gorgeous scenery around Phuket, air charter services would be a no-brainer. But the record is, shall we say, spotty, particularly when it comes to fixed-wing aircraft.
Way back in history (okay, about 15 years ago) a float plane service called Yellow Bird ran joyrides from Patong. It didn’t have any of the right paperwork, so it disappeared almost as soon as it landed.
A few years later, another seaplane operation was launched, this time with all the right certificates. It lasted until the managing director ran off home to Venezuela – taking the company’s Cessna Caravan aircraft with him. End of seaplane service.
Then came Destination Air, flying out of Phuket Airport to nearby destinations, also using a Caravan. It was really quite cheap – 5,000 baht per person from the airport to Phi Phi. But DA fell foul of the regulations and its license was suspended. It’s now up for sale.
So much for seaplanes.
Oddly, the helicopter business – which is a great deal more expensive – has survived. Indeed, it’s flourishing.
Advance Aviation chopper. Photo courtesy of the company.
The longest-lived service is Helithai, which operates a six-seater Alouette from Boat Lagoon marina, just north of Phuket Town. Helithai has done well from the movie and advertising industries, so the chopper is not always available. But check out the website here or call them at +66 (0) 8 1926 2102.
In February this year Helithai was joined by a Bangkok outfit with which it has a loose association: Advance Aviation flies two Eurocopter machines from its base in Sakoo, just south of the airport. A half-hour flight costs about 80,000 baht. See the website here.
There’s a third helicopter service run by Bangkok Hospital, the Helicopter Emergency Service, or HEMS. When there are no patients to fly around, the HEMS Eurocopter can be chartered at about 60,000 baht for 30 minutes. Keep your no-limit platinum card handy. The hospital website is here.
So choppers are doing well. But there don’t seem to be any more light aircraft services on the horizon right now.
I took a helicopter ride with my Thai partner when we were over in Las Vegas. That was to the Grand Canyon and I think was about $160 a pop including champagne and sandwiches. I guess it hasn’t taken off
here in quite the same way as tourists want to melt into the sand rather than see the stunning scenery which, whilst it doen’t quite reach Grand Canyon standards, is still pretty amazing.
Have you taken a helicopter ride in Phuket? I’d be very interested to see your comments.
I took a ride with Destination Air last year, excellent! I was surprised to see they had been forced to close – but I do believe there was some “politics” involved there…
Update at March 29, 2010: Helithai is currently offering 20-minute sightseeing tours of the west coast of Phuket for B6,400 per person. Call 081 926 21 02 (English, French) or 081 496 40 27 (Thai) or go to the website at http://www.helithaiandassociates.com/