Highlight of Ryder Cup Luxury Travel? Helicopters, Not Private Jets

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — New York may be the largest private jet market in the country, but helicopters are stealing the show this week at the Ryder Cup, for the right price.

Since executive airports in the area are no strangers to private aviation, the Ryder Cup is not having an extremely sizable impact on runway demand like The Masters has in Augusta each April. There are also other major events taking place, like the United Nations General Assembly.

However, with traffic to and from Bethpage Black Golf Course getting thicker by the day, some fans are paying a premium to avoid the congestion—in the air. 

Blade, which bills itself as an urban air mobility company, is selling seats on helicopter rides from midtown Manhattan directly to Bethpage for $1,575 over the weekend. Blade struck a deal with the PGA of America (which runs the Ryder Cup’s U.S. operations) to set up 15 landing zones on-site at the Bethpage Red Golf Course, which is not in use during the Ryder Cup. Rides into nearby Republic Airport, which then require a car ride into Bethpage, cost $1,250.

The company expects to transport approximately 3,000 passengers this weekend as the “official air mobility partner of the 2025 Ryder Cup,” but it still has some competition.

FlyHouse—a private aviation company that has its foot in golf via deals with Ryder Cup players Justin Rose and J.J. Spaun—has been getting an inordinate amount of helicopter requests from clients around New York, too, one of its executives told Front Office Sports. Those trips can be as expensive as $6,000 for a one-way flight from Westchester, which is less than 50 miles from Bethpage, into Republic.

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Despite the uptick in helicopter activity, there is still plenty of private jet travel around the Ryder Cup.

Magellan Jets told FOS that flight operation volume in the area is up 19% compared to the same time last year.

Airshare, which also has a special pact with the PGA of America as its “official private aviation provider,” is offering a unique luxury experience for some of its top clients. Those lucky guests are staying in Manhattan, and then instead of fighting the Long Island traffic out to Bethpage, are being shuttled to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, and then taking a 20-minute private flight to Republic.