My husband and I recently took the tour that included taking a small plane to the West Rim, taking a helicopter to the floor of the canyon and catamaran ride in the Colorado River. It was truly a thrilling, memorable adventure. We were picked up at our hotel on the strip by a small shuttle at 4:40 a.m., and after a few stops, we were transferred to a larger bus and taken to a Boulder City airport about 15 minutes away. The airport looked like it was brand new and had a coffee shop and a gift shop. It was there that we checked in and were given stickers designating what tour we were part of. They did weigh us too, to be able to balance the planes accordingly. All we had to do was step on a marked floor tile on right at the check in counter and it was completely confidential. We were then bussed to a small plane, where our picture was taken with the co-pilot and we boarded the small 15-seat plane. The plane was less than half full and everyone had a window seat. There was a recording you could listen to that pointed out various sites and provided facts as we headed over the Hoover Dam and toward the canyon. The ride was a little bumpy, but it wasn't bad. We landed at a smaller, older, trailer-like airport and went into the gift shop area before being separated into a helicopter group and ushered to the helicopter pad. There were six people on our helicopter and I think I was the luckiest because I got to sit in front with the pilot as he took off and took us right over the canyon. There is nothing like flying over the edge of the canyon and watching the ground simply disappear as the canyon unfolds below you. We were taken on a mild descent following the Colorado River to a designated landing area on the canyon floor. Once we were on the ground we were directed to a path and stairs leading down to the river. This was a bit steep - make sure you wear good hiking shoes. At the bottom of the path was a small dock and a boat waiting for us. Captain Vince was delightful and funny as he shared facts about the canyon. Since there was such a small group we were able to chat with him as he took us on a leisurely trip down the river. After a 15 minute ride, it was a climb back up the hill and back to the helicopter but the employees let us take pictures and revel in the beauty of the canyon. We then boarded the helicopter again and were taken on a steep climb along the cliffs back to the small airport. From there, we were given meal vouchers and boarded a Coach bus and were taken to the Skywalk and Guano point. Guano point was my husband's favorite - it also had the best food to choose from where we could use our vouchers. These stops were a nice photo op, but not as cool as going in the helicopter. We had an hour and a half to visit both locations and shuttles came by every 10-15 minutes or so. After Guano point we were taken back to the small airport on the rim and after a short wait we boarded the small plane, and flew back to Boulder City airport and took a shuttle back to the hotel. The trip began at 4:40 a.m. and we were back at our hotel at 11:30 a.m. Kudos for the staff for getting us everywhere we needed to be - it was well worth the price once I saw all the people involved in the trip. Thanks to Captain Cameron, Captain Vince and the helicopter pilot from Saratoga. My only complaint was that the sun did not come out but you can't have it all!

I am writing on my behalf and many other irate customers who took the combined AirBridge/Grand Canyon Tour with AirBridge and Papillon Helicopters on April 17, 2009 from Las vegas.
The first thing that must be said is that if you book a tour from LV with any company, in our case AirBridge, it is subcontracted to "several" companies: one to book the tour, one to drive you there (bus company), the bus driver (contracted), one to fly you over (helicopter), etc. So, when it comes time to get a straight answer on anything, simply forget it, there is no line of responsibility (vide my call to April at AirBridge when problems started: call back on Monday!!). As a matter of fact, the first thing the driver said was that he was going to give us the right information, as opposed to what we had been told up to then: that is a great boost to confidence in the trip, isn’t it?
AirBridge will pick you up at the hotel and will take you to a processing center where you will get a small coffee, a Minute Maid juice carton and a small danish, no seconds: that is what they call "breakfast". The dispatcher will then set up long lines (for northern and southern rims) and announce that exceptionally that day for those who have not yet reserved a helicopter ride the company has just called and is making a special rate of $170, and because you are going to the southern rim, the helicopter can take you down 8,000 feet. Now you have to make a last minute decision, fast, and you do not want your companion to feel you are cheap: so, you book. What he does not tell you is: you will miss the first lookout point; you will miss the IMAX, you will arrive at Papillon Helicopter at 1 pm, but the “special” additional tours are at 2:30 pm and you will vegetate until then, that these tours last only 30 minutes: 10 to fly to the canyon, 10 to come back, 10 minutes only over the Canyon and with no descent of any kind. You complain to Papillon all you want, they remain quite pleasant, but tell you that AirBridge was informed. You only get a reaction when you mention: oh, I will write to TripAdvisor!
The day is wasted and all you would have done is the Hoover Dam, the Helicopter ride and one lookout point. Some people were so irate that they told the driver, a very pleasant man, that he will get no tips and they refused to believe him when he claimed that their experience was unusual, as it is obvious that he must get similar complaints daily. I hope these passengers read these comments and know that at least their frustration is being vented and will get wide publicity.
I still recommend the tour, the IMAX, the lookout points. Do yourself a favor and: have your own breakfast before or pack it with you, do not listen to anything the dispatcher at AirBridge says, and do not take the Papillon Helicopters ride: they define what “being taken for a ride” means!

We took the helicopter ride to the West Rim of the Grand Canyon an it was beautiful.
We had very limited time in Las Vegas and really wanted to see the Grand Canyon and this was perfect.
Got picked up at the hotel and then had to go down the strip (this was our last day in Vegas and we were getting pretty tired to traveling the strip) and taken to Bolder City about a 30 minute drive after all the stops at all the hotels. Very nice facility.
During the reservation process (done from home ahead of time) we upgraded to a little larger helicopter with more windows which was worth the extra $50.
Our pilot Chuck was a really nice guy although a bit talkative about his personal background in the military.
We flew over the Hover Dam and Lake Mead and got some great pictures and also some background of the Dam, Lake and terrane from our pilot.
As we approached the Grand Canyon we started our assent and could see how beautiful it was and then after a great decent into the the Canyon we landed in the Canyon itself. The West Rim is not part of the US Park system so a Native American Tribe (can't recall the name) that owns that part of the Canyon allows helicopters to land right in the Canyon!!
We had about 40 minutes in the Canyon for a quick lunch (included in the tour...a sandwich, chips, apple, and drinks), a beautiful view and some time to take great pictures. Once you get there you wish you had more time.
We all got back on the helicopter had a great accent out of the Canyon and then went back to the Papillon facility in Bolder City.
My personal favorite part was seeing the Colorado River exiting the Grand Canyon and realizing what an amazing wonder this river created.
I asked our pilot about the North and South Rims of the Canyon and he said they were beautiful, but crowded and because the Canyon is so wide there you don't get the perspective of how high the walls really are even though they're about 1000 feet higher there, it's so wide on the North and South Rims he said the West Rim is more dramatic.
As someone very prone to motion sickness I took some Dramamine and was fine.
Overall with the exception of having to be driven up and down the strip to get to the hotel it was a wonderful experience and I would recommend it!
p.s. The pictures were taken on a very old Kodak with zero features. Not bad huh? I think it could have been the scenery :-)

I decided that, as soon as I return from Vegas, I'll write a review here for other reviewers to benefit from my experience. I have been looking at the reviews of this company for a while. It used to be really bad, but recently I felt that a lot of customers were satisfied with their job. I second that sentiment. The biggest reason that I chose this company was price and the value you get for the money. First of all, most helicopter tours from Vegas only goes to the West rim of GC, which is not the GC national park. I wanted to go to the South rim, the real park. The price for plane, helicopter, and bus tour combo from this company was more reasonable than just helicopter ride from other companies operating out of Vegas. Also, this is an activity definitely recommended for families traveling to Vegas.

We chose the mid-morning departure. When we arrived at the hotel lobby at 7:55AM, the driver was already there waiting for us. We had to drop by one more hotel to pick up two more guests, and we were off to Boulder City airport. As soon as we got checked in, we were on a small plane to GC national park. One thing to be forewarned, though, is that this is no trip to be recommended to motion-sensitive person. I consider myself as motion-sensitive, and, although the scenery was beautiful, I got quite sick during the 70 minute flight to GC. As soon as we arrived, we were greeted by a bus driver, who took us to the heliport. There we got checked in, and within about 30 minutes wait, we were on our way to helicopter. The pilot did an awesome job even though it was windy. This was the highlight of our trip, and I did not get that much motion sick this time. After a fantastic helicopter ride, we were met by the same bus, who took us to so so lunch, but again we did not go there to eat. After the lunch, we dropped by couple more scenic points and came back to the airport for the return trip to Vegas.

I was very impressed by the seamlessness of the operation. We did not wait too long for any segment including the shuttle ride back to the hotel. For those who are still unsure about booking this trip, I'll say to go ahead and book it, and enjoy the ride. If you have only one day to do Grand Canyon, this is it. I strongly recommend booking at their website. I did not purchase cheaper nonrefundable fare, because weather is uncertain. I would say to wait until a few days before the trip, and book it with refundable fare only if the weather forecast is nice.