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U.S. Helicopter Corporation Commences Flight Operations and Receives Additional Financing From Cornell Capital Partners

Posted on: Friday, 31 March 2006, 18:00 CST

NEW YORK, March 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- U.S. Helicopter Corporation ("USH") (BULLETIN BOARD: USHP) , announced today that it commenced flight operations on March 27, 2006 between the Downtown Manhattan Heliport (near Wall Street and the East River) and John F. Kennedy Airport.

USH's Metro-hop Airport Shuttle Service (MASS) in the Metro New York City market currently provides scheduled passenger helicopter service between Kennedy Airport and the Downtown Manhattan Heliport. USH is offering 24 daily flights, aboard Sikorsky S-76 helicopters that seat eight passengers and two pilots.

Chief Executive Officer and President, Jerry Murphy said, "Our customer is going to be the regular business traveler, executives, managers or supervisors who would otherwise take a Town Car or limousine service. New York City receives a lot of complaints for traffic and gridlock," he added. "We could have started in a small city but why not start it in a place that needs it the most?"

USH plans to ramp up its New York operations throughout 2006 and the first half of 2007. Initially its service will operate from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport to Kennedy Airport. USH plans to add passenger helicopter service to LaGuardia Airport during the second quarter of 2006 and to Newark Liberty International Airport during the third quarter of 2006. Subsequently, USH plans to introduce its airport shuttle service in other major metropolitan metro-markets.

USH has received all necessary approvals from the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Federal Communications Commission to operate its business as currently conducted. The Transportation Security Administration will perform security at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport to ensure New York City's airspace remains safe.

To finance USH's current expansion efforts, Cornell Capital Partners, LP ("Cornell Capital Partners") has provided $6.0 million to USH in exchange for issuance by USH to Cornell Capital Partners of $6.0 million in principal amount of USH's secured convertible debentures. The debentures mature 36 months from their date of issuance and are secured by substantially all of USH's assets pursuant to USH's existing security agreement with Cornell Capital Partners. Interest accrues at eight percent per annum and is payable in shares of USH common stock. This financing transaction closed on March 31, 2006.

In announcing USH's recent developments, Murphy said, "I am pleased and gratified with the progress that U.S. Helicopter has made with respect to the commencement of its operations. We look forward to servicing New York with our Metro-hop Airport Shuttle Service. We're extremely pleased with our affiliations with one of the world's leading airlines, American Airlines, and our equipment manufacturers, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation and Canadian Helicopter Corporation. We believe that the establishment of our shuttle service will lead to further revitalization of the lower Manhattan financial district by providing comfortable, convenient and time-saving service to business travelers working in New York City or traveling to New York City to conduct business."

"We're trying to rebuild lower Manhattan. This added transportation is important, especially around the Financial District, where a half-hour savings is very important to the business traveler," said Charles Gargano, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for Empire State Development Corp. Gargano said helicopter service in the metropolitan area is on the rise with 34,000 flights recorded in 2004, up from 12,500 flights recorded in 2002.

Troy Rillo, Managing Director of Cornell Capital Partners, said that Cornell Capital Partners "is delighted to have participated in the initial financing of U.S. Helicopter and to be part of its development efforts. We are pleased to be one of U.S. Helicopter's earliest investors to recognize the value of its MASS service." Cornell Capital Partners has provided $7.6 million in debenture financing to USH to date.

For reservations on USH's MASS service or further information about USH, please see USH's website at http://www.flyush.com/.

About USH:

U.S. Helicopter was formed on March 4, 2003 to provide a new Metro-hop Airport Shuttle Service. USH's MASS service will provide regularly scheduled passenger helicopter service between many of the nation's larger metropolitan airports and surrounding city-based heliports.

USH became a reporting company with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 2, 2005. NASD Regulation, Inc. approved the application for quotation of USH's common stock on the OTC Electronic Bulletin Board (the "OTC-BB") on March 15, 2006.

The executive offices of U.S. Helicopter are located at the 6 East River Piers, Suite 216, Downtown Manhattan Heliport, New York, New York 10004. Its operations base is located at 1000 Great Meadow Road, Suite 200, Sikorsky Memorial Airport, Stratford, Connecticut 06615.

About Cornell Capital Partners:

Launched in 2001, Cornell Capital Partners has committed over $1 billion in capital to over 150 companies listed in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Germany, Singapore and Canada. Cornell Capital Partners provides innovative financing solutions to growing companies in the small-cap sector, worldwide. For more information please visit: http://www.cornellcapital.com/.

Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements:

The foregoing contains "forward-looking statements," which are based on management's beliefs, as well as on a number of assumptions concerning future events and information currently available to management. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside USH's control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. For a more detailed description of the factors that could cause such a difference, please see USH's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. USH disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

U.S. Helicopter Corporation

CONTACT: George Mehm, Senior Vice President and CFO of U.S. HelicopterCorporation, +1-201-236-1130

Web site: http://www.cornellcapital.com/

Web site: http://www.flyush.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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