JFK fliers to rise above the lowly cab

MANHATTAN to JFK in eight minutes? That’s what a new helicopter service says it will offer.

Starting March 13, US Helicopter Corp., a start-up company based in Bridgeport, Conn., plans to offer hourly service, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, between the Downtown Manhattan Heliport, at the foot of Wall Street and the East River, and the American Airlines terminal at John F. Kennedy airport.

Besides beating city traffic, customers will be able to clear security and check bags at the heliport, said Jerry Murphy, the company’s president and chief executive. They will fly in eight-passenger Sikorsky helicopters.

The introductory one-way fare, good through March 31 is $139 per person, plus taxes and security fee; the regular rate will be $159 plus taxes and security fee. The company planned to begin ticket sales last week. Reservations, free online, cost $20 per booking by phone, Murphy said. Information: (877) 262-7676, www.flyush.com.

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In 2005, more gripes and fewer on-time flights

U.S. airlines ran more late flights, mishandled more bags and received more complaints in 2005 than in 2004, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported this month.

In 2005, 77.4% of flights arrived on time, compared with 78.1% in 2004. The number of mishandled-baggage reports per 1,000 passengers was 6.04, up from 4.91. Complaints rose from 7,452 to 8,735, or from 0.74 to 0.89 per 100,000 boardings.

Southwest Airlines logged the lowest rate of complaints, and US Airways logged the highest.

Hawaiian Airlines had the most on-time flights, and Alaska Airlines had the least among the airlines tracked. Hawaiian also mishandled the fewest bags; Atlantic Southeast Airlines ranked last.

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Four Seasons hotel opens in East Palo Alto

FOUR Seasons Hotels and Resorts has opened a 200-room hotel in a gleaming glass-and-steel tower in East Palo Alto, Calif. -- not your typical spot for swank lodging.

But Robert Whitfield, general manager of the Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley, said he expected the $100-million hotel to draw not only people doing business in the adjoining new office complex at University Circle but also others with business in the valley who dread the commute from San Francisco. He even envisions some tourists and visitors to Stanford University, about a five-minute drive west, staying at the Four Seasons.

East Palo Alto, which had a reputation for crime and poverty in the early 1990s, is undergoing revitalization that has brought in stores and other commercial concerns.

Whitfield last week described it as “a city that is in enormous

Guest rooms at the new Four Seasons have floor-to-ceiling windows, 42-inch plasma TVs, wireless Internet access and marble bathrooms. The hotel also has a spa and an Italian restaurant. Whitfield said he expected about half the rooms to be open by today and the rest in the next few weeks.

Room rates start at $325 per night. Information: (800) 819-5053, www.fourseasons.com.

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Two new mountain train tours in Canada

ROCKY Mountaineer Vacations, a 15-year-old company based in Vancouver, Canada, that offers scenic mountain train journeys and tours, is adding two routes.

From May 1 to Oct. 16, the new Whistler Mountaineer will make three-hour, 73-mile runs between North Vancouver and Whistler in British Columbia, which is home to Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort. From May 2 to Oct. 14, the new Fraser Discovery Route will cover 642 miles (two days, with a hotel stay) between Whistler and Jasper in the province of Alberta.

The Whistler route and part of the Fraser route were previously served by BC Rail, which shut them down in 2002.

The Rocky Mountaineer’s one-way prices start at $85 per person for the Whistler Mountaineer trip. For the Fraser Discovery Route, prices begin at $469 per person. Various packages, including the new Classic Rail Circle (from $1,499 per person, double occupancy, for six nights), incorporate both routes.

Information: (800) 665-7245, www.rockymountaineer.com.

-- Compiled by Jane Engle