New airline to land on water

A new airline is planning to land business travelers on water. Tailwind Air Service is launching this summer with weekday seaplane service between Manhattan's East River at 23rd Street, Boston Logan and Washington Dulles. Flights will depart Manhattan in the mornings and offer same-day returns from Boston and DC in the evenings.

The company says it is the only seaplane operator offering the routes. For now, though, the seaplanes will land at private airport terminals in Boston and D.C. But eventually, they will land in the downtown waterfronts in those two cities, the company said in a written statement.

Bloomberg points out that the airline is trying to grab some of the 3,000 business travelers who fly among those cities each day. Delta and US Airways have hourly nonstop flights from New York's LaGuardia airport to Boston and DC. Business travelers can also take Amtrak's Acela business class train from Manhattan to Washington Union Station and Boston.

Tailwind is partnering with Fly The Whale, a seaplane and private charter operator that has weekend shuttles to the Hamptons and Nantucket. The two companies will use each other's aircraft.

Tailwind says it will save passengers time because they will only have to arrive at 23rd Street and the private terminals at Logan and Dulles 20 minutes before take-off. Fares will range from $450 to $650 each way, but there will also be corporate and commuter discounts. And there will be free beer and wine. "Free booze isn't a problem," Melissa Tomkiel, who founded the company, told Bloomberg. "We've got that covered—we know exactly what these customers like."