BOSTON (CBS) – A first look at a new way to travel from Boston- by air and water.
“A plane like this delivers the ability to bring New York and Boston much closer together,” said Peter Manice, Tailwind Air’s Director of Schedule Services.
WBZ-TV got a bird’s-eye view of the city and previewed Tailwind Air’s seaplane service launching August 3, which will offer non-stop flights out of Boston Harbor to New York City.
Starting out, the flights will be offered twice a day on weekdays and service will be expanded to four times a day on August 21. The Cessna Grand Caravan EX can hold up to eight passengers.
“You’re going to be in Manhattan in 75 minutes and land on the East River at 23rd Street and be on your way to your meeting or whatever you’re planning on doing in Manhattan,” said Manice.
“We’ve had great, great, great interest. We’ve sold a lot of bookings. People seem really excited and we’re eager to get it going and then expand it,” said Tailwind Air CEO Alan Ram.
A short water taxi ride to a floating dock from Fan Pier in the Seaport is also part of the experience.
“You’re going to be right downtown to downtown so you’re not going to have to catch a cab and try to cross over some bridges. You’re going to be right into where you want to be,” said Tailwind Air Captain Adam Schewitz.
One-way fares start at just under $400 so it’s not cheap, but Tailwind Air says by leaving from the Harbor instead of the airport, their flights are the fastest way to travel between each city.
“Essentially if you take the shuttle, the Delta shuttle, American shuttle, or you take the train or you drive, it’s always going to take you about four hours to go door to door. But with this you can get from downtown Boston to New York in 2 hours or less,” said Ram.
“We hope to save people 40 to 60 percent off the current fastest times that the airline shuttles can provide,” said Manice.
“There’s a lot of leg room, the windows as you can see are really big. And so, you get actually great views and a nice experience in addition to getting there really fast,” said Ram.
