FlyNYON runs the only true doors-off helicopter photography flight over New York City. No glass, no cabin door, just you in a harness above Manhattan. No other operator in New York sells this product, and the flight looks exactly like the photos.
The pricing presentation is less great. The booking page shouts "70 % OFF, $99!" in red. The fine print under the price says "+ Fees". The actual checkout total, for two people on the cheapest 16-minute flight, is closer to $250–$268. That's not a scam, but it's also not what the price tag suggests. Here's what's actually going on, what you actually pay, and who the doors-off flight suits.
Where the "70 % off" actually comes from
The "list price" of $603 for a 16-minute flight isn't a price anyone has paid recently. FlyNYON's marketing has displayed the same "70 %" discount on the same products for years, so the $603 is effectively a fictional anchor, and $99 is the actual base price. This is legal, common in tourism pricing, and not really hidden if you look at archived versions of the page. It just means: don't feel like you got a deal because of the strikethrough. The deal is the same deal everyone gets.
What you should compare against isn't the $603 list price, but the next closest doors-off product (there isn't one in NYC) or the next closest doors-on photo flight from Manhattan (around $259 + $40 fee = $299). Doors-off at $250–$268 is then roughly the same money as a Manhattan doors-on tour, and you're paying for the open cabin, not for a "discount".
What you actually pay (16-min flight, single seat)
Per seat. Longer flights (22 / 30 / 37 min) scale roughly linearly from this base. The fee component does not.
Kearny, not Manhattan
Kearny is a small industrial town in northern New Jersey, about 30–45 minutes from Times Square depending on traffic. FlyNYON runs a shuttle from its NYON Terminal to the takeoff pad (included). Public transit is impractical: take an Uber (~$40–$55 from Midtown) or rent a car. The terminal has free parking.
If you're staying in Manhattan and booking a doors-off flight, plan a half-day around it: shuttle + lounge wait + briefing + flight + return is realistically four hours door-to-door. Don't book it for the morning of a flight home. The fragility of the schedule (weather hold, wind hold) leaves no buffer.
Who doors-off is actually for
Doors-off is unambiguously the right choice if you're flying primarily for photography or video. The lack of glass eliminates reflections that ruin half of every doors-on shot. The harness setup feels safer than it looks and is FAA-mandated single-point quick-release since 2018. The 16-minute slot is enough for the iconic Manhattan-Statue-of-Liberty-Brooklyn-Bridge sequence; the 22-minute slot adds the Hudson and George Washington Bridge.
If you're flying for the experience and not the photos, you'll get more from a Manhattan-departure doors-on tour: same skyline, less travel, no Kearny logistics, and a cabin door between you and the wind. If you want the open-cabin feel without FlyNYON's pricing complexity, Fly Hummingbyrd flies a doors-on Bell from the same Kearny area for less money.