Higgins Helitours

A Helitours Maverick taking off at the Higgins Helitours helipad.

Higgins Helitours is a helitour company in Grand Theft Auto IV.

“

So many things to see and people to do - deciding where to go can be a daunting task in Liberty City. From Middle Park to Star Junction to Firefly Island, this vibrant city is jam-packed with famous sites and landmarks. It will take you weeks to even scratch the surface. Weazel News will tell you that the only people interested in Liberty City's historic buildings these days are democracy-hating terrorists but the Triangle Building, Grand Easton Terminal, Civic Citadel and Rotterdam Tower are pieces of classic architecture not to be missed.

”

— Part of a section from the GTA IV Guidebook, why it is easier to have a helitour than drive

Description

A Higgins Helitours leaflet, as seen on the Rockstar Games Social Club website.

Higgins Helitours gives helitours using the company's own Mavericks at a price of $150 for each ride. A Higgins advertisement on TV boasts the advantages of helitours over bus tours, claiming a fun and safe adventure in the sky (while footage shows various helicopters crashing at land and sea; unfortunately, there is no such danger when the player takes a tour).

The company bases its operations at a landing platform situated off the shores of Castle Gardens and Fishmarket South, Algonquin. The layout of the landing platform as well as its location hint that the helipad may be based on the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in New York City, although the terminal building is completely different.

Pedestrians can be seen waiting in line to enter the helicopters. When a helicopter is free, at most three will approach and enter the helicopter. The pilot will take off, giving tours to them.

The name Higgins is apparently a reference to a character in the TV show Magnum P.I., and the tour company was originally to be named "Magnum Helitours". The company uses the slogan "We'll never go down on you", a reference to oral sex.

Types of tours

• 

  A Higgins Helitours advertisment

  Around Broker. Includes Humboldt River, Broker, Broker Bridge, Hove Beach, Firefly Island, Fishmarket North Harbour.
• West Algonquin. Includes Chinatown, The Exchange, Castle Gardens, West River, Statue of Happiness, Civic Citadel .
• East Algonquin. Includes Colony Island, Von Crastenburg Center, Rotterdam Tower, Libertonian, Middle Park East, East Holland Projects, GetaLife Building, Civic Citadel .
• North Algonquin. Includes Daily Globe, Cleethorpes Tower, Libertonian, North Holland, Vespucci University, Golden Pier, South Algonquin, Castle Gardens construction site (from Deconstruction for Beginners).
• The major bridges. Includes Broker Bridge, Charge Island, Algonquin Bridge, East Holland Projects, Middle Park, Columbus Cathedral .

Flying all tours at least once will earn the player the Sightseer achievement. The different tours are obtainable by boarding each of the helicopters in turn. Not all helicopters will be there at the same time; usually two or three at a time are available.

Pilots

• Rob
• Jase
• Vicki

Trivia

• During multiplayer in GTA IV and The Lost and Damned, Annihilators spawn here instead of the Helitours Mavericks. In The Ballad of Gay Tony, Buzzards spawn here.
• During the tour that leads along the major bridges, the pilot makes a mistake when he tells about the Lighthouse of Charge Island. He means the Lighthouse of Colony Island.
• Helitours pilots will appear at Francis International Airport with Pedestrian behavior (ie smoking)
• Luis Fernando Lopez was trained at Higgins Helitours. A certificate in Luis' Apartment proves this.
• Killing the pilot of a helicopter before he lands and after taking off without destroying the helicopter will continue the tour as it normally would until the helicopter lands which will cause it to continuously spin in circles.
• In The Ballad of Gay Tony, There is a small parking lot outside the Helitours Building but in Grand Theft Auto IV  and The Lost & Damned, there is just Pavement there.

Glitches

• If you start shooting an airborne Higgins Helitours Maverick flying over your position with a Sniper Rifle, a three star Wanted Level will be given to you, just as if you were shooting an LCPD Maverick. The Helitours Maverick will then fly towards you, and once again, just like an LCPD Maverick, it will begin to hover over you, even though there are no Police Officers inside.