Cool solution to traffic jams: helicopter taxis

THE US-BASED taxi-on-call service Uber continues to struggle for the right to do business in Thailand and elsewhere, but in the meantime it’s pulling out all the stops to get noticed. Its latest effort, as reported by Agence France-Presse, involves offering helicopter rides.
Uber has been upsetting traditional taxi firms around the world by making it easier for people to get cabs just by using its smartphone app. Now they can summon a chopper to pick them up too, at least in the south of France – and only between the airports in Nice and Cannes.
Of course the seven-minute flight isn’t cheap: The “uber-price” is 160 euros (Bt6,000), but then only four passengers fit in the helicopter, you get chauffeured (by car) to and from the heliports, and there are fewer hassles all round.
Yes, the price still sounds exorbitant – unless you’re already rich enough to afford your own helicopter – but the Cannes Film Festival is upon us again and a lot of the high-powered movers and shakers in the movie business will be taking advantage of the service to avoid making the trip from Nice by car. It’s normally a one-hour drive, but once the festival starts that coast road is often jammed up.
Uber has partnered with two local helicopter firms, so it’s less likely to run into trouble like last year, when the taxi drivers of Nice blocked access to the airport to protest against Uber’s encroachment on their turf.

A eunuch on the fly
One Thai who’s delighted to be attending the big Cannes movie party this year is Kriangsak “Victor” Silakong, director of both the World Film Festival of Bangkok and “Cixi Taihou: The Musical”. He flew to France shortly after the stage show closed at Rangsit University’s Suryadhep Music Sala on Sunday. “I’m the happiest man alive after our final show at Rangsit,” Victor declared on Facebook.
He’s now in Paris and will soon be heading south to Cannes, but he’s keeping in touch with his minions here because “Cixi” has another date left, at the Muang Thai Rachadalai Theatre on May 30, its only appearance in central Bangkok, and the demand for tickets is high.
The musical about China’s Empress Dowager has earned plenty of praise, so seats are selling fast at the Rachadalai. “Tickets are almost sold out,” Victor warns. “You’d better hurry up.” He’s not merely hyping the event – he posted photos of seating layout that showed just 30 places left.
Victor assures his followers that he’ll definitely be back from Cannes in time for the final show to reprise his role as a eunuch in the royal court. For now, though, he’s happily hopping in and out theatres in France, seeing films as well as live shows, free of worry that interest is fading in his own big production in Bangkok.