Corporate days out by helicopter: the 2027 events season

How a helicopter day out works

Corporate days out by helicopter are our most requested work between March and September, and this hub shows how each one is put together.

A helicopter day out works like a well-run car transfer with the traffic removed. We collect your group from a heliport, an airfield or a private site close to the office or home, fly to the venue, and a car or escort takes you the last stretch to the hospitality entrance. After the event the same helicopter brings you back.

1. Morning: guests arrive at the departure site 10 minutes before take-off. We have everyone's weight in advance, so there is no scales queue.
2. Flight: typically 15 to 90 minutes depending on the venue. From central London, Epsom is about 10 to 15 minutes, Ascot 15 to 20 minutes and Cheltenham 35 to 45 minutes.
3. Arrival: the venue's own helipad, or a nearby airfield with a short car ride, depending on what the organiser allows. Race-day and event tickets are usually checked on arrival.
4. The event: the helicopter and crew wait or reposition, and we watch the weather and the schedule for you.
5. Return: a fixed departure time, set around the last race, last session or the venue's closing movements.

Our guide to how helicopter charter works in the UK covers the booking steps in more detail, and the explainer on UK landing sites shows why venues control who lands.

The 2027 season month by month

These are the dates the organisers had published when we checked in October 2026. Fixtures can move, so check with the organiser before you book. Dates marked as provisional or reported are exactly that. Our 2027 events calendar carries the longer list.

March and April

• Cheltenham Festival: Tuesday 16 to Friday 19 March 2027. See helicopter charter to Cheltenham.
• Randox Grand National Festival at Aintree: Thursday 8 to Saturday 10 April 2027. See Aintree and the Grand National.
• Betfred Guineas Festival at Newmarket: published as Friday 30 April to Sunday 2 May 2027.

May and June

• Dante Festival at York: Wednesday 12 to Friday 14 May 2027.
• Lockinge Weekend at Newbury: Friday 14 and Saturday 15 May 2027. See Newbury Racecourse.
• Betfred Derby Festival at Epsom: Friday 4 and Saturday 5 June 2027, with Derby Day on the Saturday. See Epsom.
• Royal Ascot: Tuesday 15 to Saturday 19 June 2027. See Ascot.
• Glastonbury Festival: Wednesday 23 to Sunday 27 June 2027. See Glastonbury.

July

• Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone: Friday 2 to Sunday 4 July 2027 on the provisional calendar. See Silverstone.
• Newmarket July Festival: Thursday 8 to Saturday 10 July 2027. See Newmarket.
• The Open at St Andrews: the R&A publishes 11 to 18 July 2027. See golf by helicopter.
• Goodwood Festival of Speed: 15 to 18 July 2027. See Festival of Speed.
• Qatar Goodwood Festival (Glorious Goodwood): reported as Tuesday 27 to Saturday 31 July 2027. See Glorious Goodwood.

August to November

• Ebor Festival at York: reported by hospitality sellers as 18 to 21 August 2027; York had not confirmed it when we checked. See York.
• St Leger Festival at Doncaster: 9 to 12 September 2027. See Doncaster.
• Newbury autumn racing: Dubai Duty Free International on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 September, and Coral Gold Cup Day on Saturday 27 November 2027.

Football runs from August to May, polo from late spring to September, and golf throughout the summer. The category pages below cover them.

Choose by type of event

If you know the kind of day you want but not the venue, start with the category. Each page compares the venues, lists the specific events and sets out a typical timeline.

• Horse racing by helicopter Royal Ascot, the Cheltenham Festival, the Derby, the Grand National, Goodwood, Newmarket, York and Doncaster.
• Race circuits by helicopter Silverstone, Goodwood, Brands Hatch, Donington Park, Thruxton, Oulton Park and Anglesey.
• Golf by helicopter championship courses and the venues for The Open.
• Polo by helicopter Guards Polo Club, Cowdray Park and other clubs.
• Football by helicopter Premier League grounds and national stadiums, with honest notes on where a helicopter can land.

Prefer a dinner to a day at the races? Our dining by helicopter page covers restaurant and hotel trips, and the country-house pages, such as Cliveden, The Grove, Brocket Hall and Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, cover the estates.

Stadiums and venues in the same section

Stadium days are a growing part of our work for overseas clients. We have a page for each ground, and each is honest about where a helicopter can and cannot land.

• London: Arsenal at the Emirates, Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Wembley and Twickenham.
• North: Liverpool at Anfield, Manchester City at the Etihad and Manchester United at Old Trafford.
• Midlands and south: Aston Villa at Villa Park, Brighton at the Amex and AFC Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

More events on the calendar

The 2027 list keeps growing. In racing we now cover Ayr, Chester, Newbury and Badminton Horse Trials. In motorsport there are pages for Brands Hatch, Donington Park and the Isle of Man TT. Golf and tennis fans can read about St Andrews, Wentworth and Wimbledon; the summer shows are the Great Yorkshire Show and the Royal Highland Show; sailing and rowing are Cowes Week and Henley Royal Regatta; and match days are covered for Principality Stadium, Murrayfield Stadium and St James’ Park. For the Goodwood calendar there is also the Goodwood Revival, and for the winter season see shooting season by helicopter.

Why companies choose a helicopter for client entertainment

Corporate hospitality is expensive, and the worst part of it is often the journey: a late start, a long queue and guests who arrive tired. A helicopter changes the first and last hour of the day. Guests arrive together, on time, and spend the saved hours at the table and not in traffic.

The saving is real. From central London to Cheltenham the flight is typically 35 to 45 minutes and the drive around 2 hours 15 minutes in free-flowing traffic. London to Silverstone is typically 25 to 35 minutes against about 1 hour 50 minutes by road. On the big days the roads are slower than those floor figures.

Recent requests show the range. A car manufacturer used 30 passengers on two days of transfers between Battersea and Goodwood for the Festival of Speed. An estate agency rewarded its top six sales staff with a flight from Redhill Aerodrome to lunch at Le Manoir. An events company showed 100 potential buyers a development site from the air in one day, using five helicopters. We work alongside events agencies as well as directly with companies.

For central London departures the Battersea team at Battersea Helicopter has a guide to helicopter travel to the races, and we link our regional departures to the same schedules.

What to plan before you book

Four things decide whether a helicopter day goes smoothly: your date, your numbers, your weights and your return time. Give us those and we can tell you what is possible, usually the same day.

• Date and venue: the major meetings and the Grand Prix sell their landing slots early, so ask before you commit hospitality or tickets that depend on a landing.
• Numbers: one helicopter carries up to 8 passengers. A larger party is split across aircraft that fly together, which suits a group that wants to arrive as one. See the Leonardo AW139 and Airbus H145 D3 pages for cabins.
• Weights and bags: we ask for every passenger's weight, and we use soft bags where the hold is small.
• Return time: daylight, venue curfews and landing windows set the latest take-off. In winter and early spring this is the main constraint, which is why Cheltenham in March is usually flown in a twin-engine helicopter.

If the flight is cancelled because of the weather, you pay nothing. For price guidance, the helicopter hire price guides explain how charter costs are built, and the quote form on this page gets you a figure for your own date.