If all goes as planned next month, scheduled seaplane service from downtown New York City to Washington, D.C. and Boston will again be a reality. Targeting business travelers on the northeast corridor who despise security lines and the transit time from Manhattan to LaGuardia or Newark Airports, Tailwind Air Serviceis gearing up to offer 90-minute door-to-door flights in Cessna Caravans equipped with amphibious floats. Initial service from Manhattans East 23rd Street Skyport Marina will be to general aviation terminals (no TSA required) at Boston Logan and Washington Dulles Airports. Tailwind is reportedly working on approval for water operations so it can deliver passengers to downtown D.C. and Boston, further cutting transit time for its target customers.
One-way ticket prices range from $450-$650-and the in-flight drinks are free in the executive-configured (nine-seat) Caravans. The new routes are an expansion of Tailwinds existing service from Manhattans Skyport Marina to the Hamptons and Nantucket. There have been a number of seaplane bases on Manhattan, the most famous of which was at the base of Wall Street. Commercial seaplane service was first offered well before World War II. The Grumman Widgeon, a six-place, twin-engine flying boat, was reportedly designed in the late 1930s for Wall Street executives to commute between their homes on eastern Long Island and their jobs in Manhattan.
