Enter to Win a Free Helicopter Ride From Manhattan to JFK With BLADE

Update 2/9/2017: Bryce G. has been chosen as our second winner! Continue to post your crazy travel stories — there is one more seat to give away!

Update 2/7/2017: TPG reader Robbie K. is our first lucky winner. Continue to post your crazy travel stories — we still have two seats to give away!

How does getting from Manhattan to JFK in 5 minutes sound? With New York's crazy traffic creating daily gridlock throughout Manhattan, you're going to want to leave plenty of time to get to the airport. BLADE, an on-demand helicopter service, is the best way to avoid what can sometimes be an hour or more car ride or several transfers on public transit.

In addition to offering private jet service to Miami and seaplanes that take off from NYC's rivers and whisk you to the Hamptons, BLADE has introduced new regularly scheduled flights on its BLADE Bounce service, which allows users to book an individual seat on a weeknight BLADE flight departing for JFK at 5:15 pm for $295 one-way.

Traditionally, BLADE allowed you to either book your own flight and open it up to others to crowdsource the cost or to book a single seat on someone else's flight with an open seat. If the person who charters the helicopter is able to sell each remaining seat, they will receive credit towards their next flight and can potentially get it for free.

Now, BLADE is offering Bounce By-the-Seat service which will allow you to book just one seat on its regularly scheduled flights between the city and JFK. While it's certainly not cheap, it is significantly less costly than booking a helicopter through the more traditional (and riskier) method of booking an entire flight and hoping that others will join your ride to bring the cost down. Almost $300 may seem like a lot to pay for a ride to the airport, but it's a no-brainer if you value your time highly. Not to mention the fact that you'll get incredible aerial views of Manhattan and can witness stunning sunsets like I did last week when I had the opportunity to try out BLADE Bounce for myself.

This week BLADE and TPG have teamed up to give away three BLADE Bounce Seats for flights from the BLADE Lounge West in Manhattan to JFK airport. You can depart any weekday on the 5:15pm flight — perfect for catching evening flights for business trips or for pleasure without the worry of getting caught in New York's notorious rush hour traffic. Follow the instructions below for your chance to win.

How To Enter:

1. Download the BLADE app and create an account
2. Under 'Referral Code' enter THEPOINTSGUY (Note: the referral code is case sensitive)
3. Follow @flyblade on Instagram and @flybladenow on Twitter
4. Like BLADE on Facebook
5. In the comments below, tell us your craziest airport transit story.

(Note: BLADE reserves the right to cancel a flight for weather or other purposes)

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Check out TPG's BLADE experience before he jetted off to France last summer:

Winners will be selected throughout the week — one on Monday (2/6), one on Wednesday (2/8) and one on Friday (2/10). Even if you don't win, you'll still receive a $100 account credit towards your first flight when you enter the referral code: THEPOINTSGUY.

Featured Image courtesy of BLADE.

What's your craziest story about getting to the airport? Comment below (and follow the instructions above) and you could be entered to win a free seat on a BLADE Bounce flight!