While certainly not an inexpensive mode of transportation, private helicopter travel allows celebrities the freedom to move about where and when they please. Unlike airplanes, helicopters do not have to have an airstrip on which to land, which means that they can travel to both out-out-the-way locales and busy urban centers. A great number of Hollywood stars and other celebs use helicopters to get around the same way that other people use cars.
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes and their young daughter, Suri, travel by helicopter fairly regularly. This is one family that need never wait in the security line at the airport. Recently, they were spotted boarding a private rotorcraft in New York City so that they could make it to Los Angeles in time for Katie to make an appearance on The Late Show with Jimmy Fallon.
Johnny Depp
In addition to being able to afford a private helicopter ride whenever he likes, the Pirates of the Caribbean star owns his own 45-acre private island in the Bahamas. The island is eco-friendly, making use of solar power and other environmentally sound practices. Since there is no airstrip on the island, Depp and his family travel to this tropical getaway either by helicopter or boat.
Harrison Ford
Unlike some of the other celebrities on this list, Harrison Ford can actually fly his own personal helicopter, since he is a licensed rotorcraft pilot. Ford actually owns six airplanes and a helicopter and recently made use of his skills as a pilot when he flew his family back from a Christmas vacation.
Clint Eastwood
Like Ford, Clint Eastwood is also a licensed rotorcraft operator. Ford and Eastwood are part of a number of celebrities who are taking advantage of airplane and helicopter flight training in order to travel without all the hassle of security teams and aircraft personnel.
Seal and Heidi Klum
When Seal proposed to Heidi Klum in December 2004, he made use of a private helicopter to fly the pair to a remote location in the Canadian Rockies. Upon arrival, the helicopter left the couple in romantic isolation as Seal gave Klum her $150,000 engagement ring.
Not everyone is a fan of celebrity helicopter travel, however. In fact, the residents of St. Tropez, one of Europe’s most popular beach retreats for the rich and famous, complain about the incessant noise from April to August as celebrities fly in for quick getaways.
One thing’s for sure, though, this celebrity travel trend is likely here to stay.
