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a Papillon tour pilot smiles and gives thumbs up in front of a helicopter at the Boulder City air terminal

Frequently Asked Questions

Trip Planning:

Most tours operate 365 days a year. We do not operate tours departing to and from Page, Arizona or the Grand Canyon South Rim on Christmas (December 25). 

Most tours and flights have many departures ranging from early morning to late afternoon and evening.

Passengers have the option to include pick-up and drop-off from several hotels located across the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown Las Vegas in their tour. Depending on which location is closest to your own hotel, you may be the first to be picked up, last to be dropped off, or somewhere in between, as other passengers embarking on tours will be picked up and dropped off during the same shuttle route.

Tour duration includes your hotel pick-up (if included in your tour), your travel time to the air terminal, your flight, time spent at the canyon, and your return transportation to the Las Vegas Strip.

Our Boulder City, NV terminal does offer lockers for personal item storage. Note that no large backs are permitted on the helicopters; bags can be brought on airplanes but will be weighed before stowing. It is suggested that passengers bring as few items possible to account for the weight and balance of the aircraft.

Visitors to the Skywalk at the Grand Canyon West Rim will also be able to store their personal belongings in provided lockers.

We can store baggage/luggage only for passengers who are checking out of their hotel before arriving at the air terminal. Please contact our reservations department when booking at 702-736-7243 so we can prepare in advance to accommodate you.

For helicopter tours, we recommend that a pregnant woman in her 3rd (last) trimester check with her doctor before flying; however, due to the lower altitudes of our flights, we do not have any restrictions.

For airplane tours, we require that a pregnant woman in her 3rd (last) trimester have a doctor's note signed within 3 days of departure providing consent to fly.

There are no age restrictions to participate in an airplane or helicopter tour. Children age 0-1 are considered lap children and can fly for free with a parent's ticket; children over the age of 2 must have a purchased seat. Some of our adventure tours, such as the Canyon and River Adventures Rafting Tour, and the Grand Canyon Coach and River Trip will not permit children under the age of 4, and the Bryce Canyon Day Tour with Zion Day Tour requires children to be over the age of 7 to participate.

There is no maximum age cut-off for any tour; however mobility restrictions may limit elderly passengers in certain activities.

Car seats cannot be accommodated on the aircraft; children under 2 years of age may sit on their parent or guardian's lap during the flight.

Strollers/prams cannot be brought about a helicopter due to space limitations; however, strollers can be stowed in an airplane. Contact our reservations department before your flight so we can prepare in advance to accommodate your stroller/pram.

Your body weight is kept private and is used to arrange the seating distribution aboard the aircraft. It is vital that you provide the most accurate estimation of your weight as possible in order to determine the balance of the aircraft prior to your tour. All passengers will also be weighed during check-in at the air terminal, and inaccurate prior weight submissions can create a delay in your tour's boarding time and affect other passengers.

Airplanes and helicopters have a maximum weight capacity as well as other restrictions on that govern the balance of the aircraft. All airplane and/or helicopter passengers will be weighed at time of check-in. Passengers exceeding 299lbs (135.91kg / 21.36 stone) will be charged a fee for an additional comfort seat. This fee is based on the product and ranges from $50 to $300.

About Tours:

We offer Grand Canyon tour narration in several languages on our air transportation tours. Most helicopter narrations are available in: Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian, French, Dutch, Chinese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, and English. Most airplane narrations are available in: Spanish, German, Russian, Swedish, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, French, Dutch, Thai, Indonesian, Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, and English.

Aside from the headset narration available in multiple languages for each passenger, your headset on helicopter tours also includes a microphone so you can communicate with your party and the pilot. Airplane tours also include headset narration but do not allow passengers to speak to the pilot(s).

All passengers booked on a tour must have government-issued forms of identification, NO EXCEPTIONS.

We pick up from select Las Vegas hotels on the Strip and Downtown.

No. We offer hotel pick-ups only from the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown Las Vegas.

Yes, we do pick up from Harry Reid International Airport.

Generally, all of our tours operate every day of the year except Christmas. Our selection on Christmas day is limited to airplane and bus tours only.

Yes - Passengers who live locally or are staying in a house during their trip can travel to a nearby Strip or Downtown hotel and still receive hotel transportation for their tour.

We offer bus tours that depart from the Grand Canyon National Park. These Grand Canyon bus tours include transport to Page, Arizona for additional adventures like river rafting, Antelope Canyon tours, and sights of Horseshoe Bend.

We offer a hiking tour through Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park. Departing from Las Vegas, this day tour shows you two of the desert Southwest's most impressive regions, with opportunity to explore on foot and take photos. Learn more about our Bryce Canyon hiking tour.

Our groups and incentives department would be happy to assist you. Please click here for more information.

About Booking:

We use industry standard security methods and encryption to protect both your credit card and your personal information during the booking process.

Immediately after booking we will send you an order receipt. This receipt acknowledges that we have received all the information required and that your credit card was successfully processed. Within 24 hours you will receive your tour confirmation at the email address you entered during booking.

Payment in full is required at the time of booking - we do not accept partial payment or payment upon arrival.

Of course! However, better prices may be available online.

Of course! We are happy to take bookings on arrival. However, better prices are available online and our helicopter and airplane tours often sell out. It is recommended that you book in advance.

If 24 hours has passed and you have not received your booking confirmation via email, please reach out to our reservations department 702-736-7243 at or res@papillon.com.

All passengers are welcome to request a front or window seat; however, we cannot guarantee seat placement until all aircraft passengers have been weighed and distributed throughout the plane to ensure safety and balance. For multiple front/window seat requests, please reach out to our reservations team at 702-736-7243 or email at res@papillon.com.

Any third-party bookings must be amended or cancelled through their site or agents - we cannot adjust bookings outside of our website or reservations agents.

Prime time departures are considered any departure time between 9:00am and 11:45am. Peak time rates apply for tours that depart during this time frame.

We do not require e-tickets for boarding. After booking your air tour, your name and booking information will be logged until your departure time. Upon arrival to the air terminal, simply present your government-issued identification and our team will be able to locate your tour booking.

No-show reservations will be cancelled if the passenger has not checked in at least 45 minutes prior to flight time. Our full cancellation policy will apply.

We have a variety of group service programs available to you. Small groups can even be booked directly on our website. See our Groups and Incentives page for full details.

Not at this time.

Our reservation center staff are very knowledgeable and will be happy to help you complete your booking.

We go to great lengths to ensure that your booking confirmations get through to you. However, spam filters and automatic mail sorters can cause your confirmation email to get lost. If you have not received your confirmation please feel free to contact our reservations center.

Should you experience a rare website freeze or glitch during your checkout process, please contact our reservations department at 702-736-7243 or email at res@papillon.com so we can verify if your payment was accepted or if we need to process your payment once again.

Depending on the complexity of your request, it could take slightly longer than 24 hours to respond. We do not wish to waste your time with pointless emails and as such we will only respond with emails of substance. If you have an urgent need please feel free to contact our reservations center at (702) 736-7243.

In the event of an increased price of aviation fuel, a per person fuel surcharge may apply. The fuel surcharge amount does vary for different tour packages and will be collected at check-in.

About Transportation:

The departure times shown on the website reference the tour's flight time, not your hotel pick-up time. After booking, you will receive an email confirmation detailing your pick-up location and time.

Our shuttle stops at several hotels along the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown Las Vegas, so we begin the pick-up process early to ensure that all passengers will arrive at the air terminal in time for their flight. Upon arrival at the terminal, you will check in for your flight and watch a safety video. You can also enjoy a coffee or a snack at the cafe, browse the gift shop, use the restroom, and watch the helicopters and airplanes depart while you await your flight time.

If your tour departs from our Boulder City, NV air terminal, you can receive transportation from the following hotels: Excalibur, Aria, Planet Hollywood, Bellagio, Treasure Island, Wynn, Circus Circus, and Golden Nugget.

If your tour departs from our Las Vegas Strip air terminal, then you can receive transportation from most Las Vegas hotels.

If tour includes hotel pick-up, the location of the hotel nearest yours will be listed in the confirmation letter. If you do not see that information, please call our reservations department at 702-736-7243 to confirm transfer has been arranged for your tour. Note that some tours do not include transfers, which is notated in the tour information on our website.

 

 

No - the hotels on the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown Las Vegas do not permit touring helicopters to land atop their roofs.

Our shuttle is bright red and has a large Papillon logo on the side.

If you are waiting at one of the designated pick-up hotels and your driver has not arrived at the appointed time, please call our reservations department at (702) 736-7243.

Passengers are always welcome to drive themselves to our air terminal, and we offer parking for those that do. However, your tour price will not change if you elect to drive yourself instead of adding shuttle service.

No, we do not charge passengers to park at our air terminal if they choose to drive to our air terminal.

No - we only offer pick-up and drop-off from select hotels located along the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown Las Vegas. If you are staying off of the Strip, you can easily travel to one of the designated hotels via rideshare or taxi service.

Yes, you can. Contact our reservations department at 702-736-7243 or email at res@papillon.com to arrange your private transportation at an additional cost.

Yes! Please reach out to our reservations team at 702-736-7243 or email at res@papillon.com to arrange private limousine transportation at an additional cost.

We do not. If you are visiting the Grand Canyon South Rim and would like to embark on one of our helicopter, airplane, or Hummer tours, you will have to transport yourself to our terminal located just near the park entrance.

About Changes:

Unless specified, most of our tours may be changed or cancelled without penalty up to 72 hours prior to flight departure, subject to availability. We suggest to review the terms and conditions on your confirmation letter to verify these details.

Passenger name changes can be made by contacting our Live Chat Help or you can contact our reservations department at (702) 736-7243 .

Unless specified, most of our tours may be changed or cancelled without penalty up to 72 hours prior to flight departure, subject to availability. We suggest to review the terms and conditions on your confirmation letter to verify these details. You may contact our reservations center to make modifications to your reservation.

Our reservations department can be reached between 8am - 8pm PST. Call 702-736-7243 or email at res@papillon.com.

 

No, coupon codes need to be mentioned at the time of booking. Coupons have limited offer dates, expiration dates, or are based on availability.

Should your commercial flight to Las Vegas be delayed or cancelled, please contact our reservations department at 702-736-7243 as soon as possible so that we may begin to amend your tour departure time/date.

We do - for an additional fee, our cancellation protection allows you to reschedule your tour time/tour date or receive a full refund (not including the cancellation protection fee) up to 24 hours before your tour's departure time.

If you have already purchased your tour and would like to add cancellation protection, please contact our reservation team at 702-736-7243 for assistance.

Please click here for our full cancellation policy. Additionally, the "Cancellation Policy" link can be found at the bottom of every page under "Helpful Links".

Please contact our reservations department. Note that our cancellation policy will apply.

Still didn’t answer your question? Give us a call at (702) 638-3300 or email us at res@papillon.com. We’ll be happy to answer any questions we didn’t cover.