Flying by
Helicopter

Because helicopters do not need arrival and departure slots at the island airports, and can land at helipads rather than runways. In high summer, when Mykonos and Santorini are slot constrained and parking is limited, that is often the difference between arriving at the time you wanted and arriving when a slot happened to be free.

Typically three to seven depending on the type. The Airbus H125 and similar single-engine types sit at the lower end; the H130 seats up to seven in a wider cabin. In practice the seat count is theoretical, because passenger and luggage weight together often fill the aircraft before the seats do.

Less than you think, and the limit is weight rather than space. Once fuel and passengers are loaded, what remains for baggage is small, particularly at full seats. Soft bags travel better than hard cases, and giving the operator honest weights at booking avoids a difficult conversation at the helipad.

Most island and coastal charter operations are daylight only. That makes the last useful departure of the day considerably earlier than sunset suggests, and it is the reason a delayed jet arrival can cost you the helicopter connection entirely. Build the day around the helicopter leg rather than the other way round.

Twin-engine types carry more redundancy, but the type matters less than the operator and the crew. Among the common island types, the H130's Fenestron enclosed tail rotor removes a recognised source of ground accidents, and modern glass cockpits improve situational awareness in haze. Ask which specific type is being sent rather than which types the operator lists.

For a short island transfer it usually is, because the aircraft is smaller and the sector is short. It is not a like-for-like comparison though: the helicopter is doing a leg the jet cannot do at all, so the useful question is what the whole journey costs and how long it takes door to door, not what each aircraft costs per hour.

Usually not. In the size range used for island and city transfers, the pilot is the only crew member. Cabin crew can sometimes be arranged on larger types, but it is a specific request made before the booking is signed off rather than something to expect as standard.

Sometimes, and it is one of the main reasons to use one, but it needs a licensed or approved landing site and often the property's own permissions. Some hotels and beach clubs have their own helipads with their own rules. Ask early, because the answer changes the routing and occasionally the aircraft.

Earlier than a jet, because the fleet is small. In July and August in the Cyclades the number of available airframes is genuinely limited, and the daylight constraint compresses the usable hours further. Weeks rather than days is the right unit for peak season.

The flight waits or it does not go. Helicopters are more exposed to wind and visibility than jets on the same day, and a crew that declines is doing its job. Any itinerary that depends on a helicopter leg should have a ferry or road alternative understood in advance, not improvised at the helipad.

Look for one that genuinely operates in the rotary market rather than treating it as an add-on to jets. The tells are the range of types it can actually source, whether it insists on aircraft with insurance in place, and whether it knows the licensed landing sites on your route. A provider strong on jets and thin on helicopters will quote, but from a narrow fleet.

Because of what the time is worth. An emergency transfer by helicopter saves around 56 minutes on average against moving the same patient by road, and in the islands, where the road option may not exist at all, the margin is far larger. It is also used for sensitive transfers where isolation matters.