Members Only: The ‘Copter Club
It’s coffee, tea, or Taittinger on luxury rides from Manhattan
By Kate Maier
 Blue Star Jets
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(05/24/2007) A half-hour sipping champagne while taking diabolical pleasure in flying above a slow-moving traffic jam on the Long Island Expressway is, for some, worth almost any price. And that is a large part of the reason why Blue Star Jets’ “Hamptons helicopter membership club” is taking off this summer. For a mere $28,000, high-style travelers can lock in five round trips from Manhattan to the East End, scheduled at their own convenience.
“Typically I like to go on a Thursday evening after work,” said Ricky Sitomer, a partner and C.E.O. of the company, who owns a house in Water Mill and frequently flies out alone or with his family. “This allows for me to spend more time with my kids,” he said. “I can leave on Monday at 8 a.m. and be at the office by 9.”
For investment bankers and rock stars, C.E.O.s and celebrities, owning a private jet or helicopter may be alluring, but few can afford to actually maintain their own. And, Mr. Sitomer said, buying into an aircraft share can turn into a scheduling nightmare.
Blue Star, founded seven years ago, is “a full-service aviation provider and broker,” according to Mr. Sitomer. “We deal with everything from 747s to all-private jets.” The service essentially gives access to a network of aircraft of all sizes, at the drop of a hat.
With the “Hamptons Heli-card,” travelers can embark from any heliport in New York City and enjoy the view along with the complimentary bottle of Taittinger Champagne with which each flight is furnished. The luxury chopper will touch down at any heliport from Westhampton to East Hampton, although Montauk is a bit more expensive.
“I would assume that would be about a $400 surcharge,” said Marco Larsen, the company’s vice president of public relations, as he crunched a few numbers in his head.
The helicopters’ interiors are “very plush, with all-leather seats” and maximum window coverage for the occupants’ viewing pleasure, said Mr. Sitomer. “I love it, because it’s just the experience of flying pretty low over Long Island, seeing all the big houses, the sights, and looking at the traffic on the L.I.E.”
The idea of a luxury flight service came to him several years ago while he was working on Wall Street. “I was a client,” he recalled. “I used to be in the stock market, and I was a guy who was chartering helicopters and jets. Then the market tanked, and I decided to start a company that provided more flexibility.” He is now a partner with Todd Rome, who also owns a house in Southampton and is a frequent flyer.
Mr. Sitomer described the company as “the anti-share.” He explained: “We’re half the price of a share model, and we give you the flexibility to change your aircraft.” If 14 people are going to Europe, a Lear jet might be appropriate; but if you are taking the family down to Florida, a different model might be called for.
Booking a jet for a bachelor party in Las Vegas is a frequent request, he said. “We do a lot of European business. Everybody wants to go to the South of France over the summer.”
The business first spread its wings in 2000, the right time to get into the charter flight industry, Mr. Sitomer added. “After Sept.11 we were off to the races,” he said, recalling the change in attitudes toward air travel. “It pushed people over the edge — from people who were thinking about it to actually doing it.”
And although the cost might be mind-blowing to the average Joe, there is a growing market of customers for such high-flying services.
According to Mr. Sitomer, a wider and wider circle of clients is beginning to use his planes. “It’s not just for rock stars anymore,” he said.