"Are you ready for the best view of your life?," ask Andrew Woods, as he guides the helicopter past the Statue of Liberty.
The tourists grin eagerly in anticipation. The chopper turns, and the passengers take in a sweeping view of the southern end of Manhattan, the new World Trade Center looming in the foreground as the city's famous bridges stretch over the East River. The pilot has delivered.
Woods is a captain with Manhattan Helicopters, one of several tour providers zipping above the New York skyline. From the Downtown Manhattan Heliport â€" the city's busiest â€" Woods flies 14 tours per day, taking passengers on a 20-minute ride, up and down the Hudson River and over sites like the George Washington Bridge and Yankee Stadium.
"I have never driven to work in New York City," says Woods, who commutes daily from New Jersey above millions of unlucky souls below. "The nearest I get to traffic is viewing it from a thousand feet."
Born in Ireland, Woods speaks of New York City with a burning enthusiasm bordering on reverence. He has, potentially, the greatest job in town, and he knows it.
"The biggest challenge is arriving to work fully refreshed from the day before," he says. "It's action from the minute you start to the minute you finish."
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