MANILA - A tech startup is offering a ride-sharing service using helicopters promising to cut hours-long commutes in Metro Manila's traffic-choked roads to just a few minutes.

Tech startup Ascent offers flights between NAIA, Metro Manila, Clark, and Tagaytay by the seat and route with instantaneous booking. Makati-BGC route costs P7,000 with travel time of 3 minutes. pic.twitter.com/MSMmuiOQAa — Jacque Manabat (@jacquemanabat) April 3, 2019

Ascent Urban Air Mobility said passengers can book a helicopter seat through their website and fly between locations such as the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), central business districts in Makati, Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig, and Quezon City, as well as regional locations in Clark and Tagaytay.

Helicopter services will be provided by INAEC Aviation Corporation (INAEC).

A ride from the NAIA to BGC, a 10-minute flight, costs P8,900 per person. If going to Quezon City from the airport, a 15-minute chopper ride would cost P10,900.

"With the launch of Ascent in the Philippines, we hope to provide a solution that is highly relevant to the current times’ economic and productivity pitfalls caused by congested roads,” said Ascent CEO Lionel Sinai-Sinelnikoff.

The company said it also offers luggage transport, on-ground guest assistance, airport transfers via helicopter, shuttle services to dedicated heliports, and corporate packages.

Ascent said it plans to expand to more locations in the Philippines, including major cities in Visayas and Mindanao, as well as other Southeast Asian countries in the next few years.

Grab and Uber also allowed users to book rides on helicopters years ago, but have stopped offering these services.

- With a report from Jacque Manabat, ABS-CBN News