NYC holiday lights helicopter tour from Westchester: Wings Air

Wings Air, a helicopter company based at Westchester County Airport, says it will run evening tours over Manhattan in December. The company says it has flown private passengers since 2002.

The Holiday Lights tour runs from December 1 to 31, closed on Christmas Day, with departures between 4 PM and 8:30 PM. Flights leave from the company’s base at the Westchester airport, and Wings Air says they reach New York City airspace in minutes. Flights typically last 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the route.

The route

Wings Air lists these sights on the route. Midtown and Times Square. The Empire State Building. Then south past One World Trade Center to Battery Park, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Central Park is on the list too.

Wings Air says the doors stay closed on every tour and the cabins are climate controlled. It tells passengers to dress warmly and bring a photo ID.

Wings Air's own video of a Christmastime night flight over New York, posted December 2021.

Getting there

The base sits at Atlantic Aviation West, 67 Tower Road in Harrison, inside the airport. Wings Air says the express Metro-North from Grand Central to White Plains takes about 35 minutes, then it is roughly a 10 minute taxi.

Illustrative image: the entrance sign at Westchester County Airport. — Illustrative image. The entrance to Westchester County Airport, where Wings Air is based. Photo: ajay_suresh, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Flying home for the holidays

Wings Air also flies private charters. In a post dated Nov 3, it lists holiday charter routes from Manhattan or Westchester to JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, Teterboro, the Hamptons, Montauk, the Hudson Valley and parts of New England and the Mid-Atlantic. It says its helicopters can fly about 300 miles, or roughly 2.5 hours, nonstop.

Wings Air says a charter reserves the whole aircraft rather than individual seats. Airport transfers land at the general aviation side, not the main terminal, and the company tells airline passengers to leave extra time to get across.

Table of Wings Air holiday charter destinations from Manhattan or Westchester: New York area airports, the Hamptons and Montauk, the Hudson Valley, New England and the Mid-Atlantic, with a "Good to know" list of passenger requirements and weather caveats. — Where Wings Air flies for holiday travel, and what it asks of passengers. Source: wingsair.net.

Illustrative image: the Empire State Building lit red and green for Christmas at night. Not a Wings Air photo. — Illustrative image. The Empire State Building lit red and green for Christmas, seen from Rockefeller Center. Not a Wings Air photo. Photo: Amar.raavi, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Timeline from September to December showing Wings Air fall foliage tours from Sept 15 to Nov 15 and holiday lights tours from Dec 1 to 31, with no flights on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Foliage tours run 10 AM to 4 PM and holiday lights tours 4 PM to 8:30 PM, both from Westchester. — Wings Air's fall and holiday tour dates and hours. Source: wingsair.net.

The fine print

Winter weather is the big variable. Wings Air says every flight is subject to the pilot’s final safety call, and low visibility, snow, icing, strong winds or temporary flight restrictions can delay, reroute or cancel a trip. If it has to cancel, it says it will try to give passengers at least two hours’ notice. It asks holiday travellers to keep a ground backup and not to cut connections fine.

It also asks for passenger weights and luggage details before departure. Soft bags travel best. Skis, golf clubs and big gifts have to be flagged in advance.

The company does not fly on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day or New Year’s Day. Wings Air says the busiest travel days around Thanksgiving and the December holidays bring more demand for aircraft, pilots, heliports and airport services.

The company’s fall foliage tours over the Hudson Valley run until November 15, from 10 AM to 4 PM daily out of Westchester, depending on the leaves.

Schedules and conditions are on Wings Air’s holiday lights page and its holiday travel guide.

Top photo: Joe Mabel (on Flickr as Joe Mabel from Seattle, US) via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.