Inside the elite world of helicopter commuting: 'It's like a bus to me'

Mark Harris for BI

On a sunny Wednesday afternoon in late February, Ernesto Tey walked from a meeting on the west side of Manhattan to the heliport at 30th Street on the Hudson River. He was early for his 3 p.m. Blade helicopter flight to Kennedy International Airport, so he ordered a drink at the lounge bar.

A self-described "plane geek" who works for a software company and flies single-engine aircraft in his spare time, the Californian says he's taken about 30 Blades to and from Manhattan over the last few years.