By: Marty Raminoff
Tailwind Air announced the inaugural flight for its new service from Manhattan to Washington DC. The Rye Brook, New York-based airline had initially scheduled the new flights to begin take off in mid-September, but the plans had to be delayed to a rescheduled start which took place Friday, Oct 21st. “It was beyond out control,” Peter Manice, Tailwind Air’s co-founder and EVP, told The Post regarded the delayed launch. “We met all the regulations. It was airspace issues and we were asked to move from the original College Park destination to Washington’s Dulles International Airport. College Park is a very small airfield; we’ll delay that destination until next year. We want to serve multiple locations around the DC area from Manhattan.”
The commuter scheduled air carrier and charter airline, founded in 2014, is based in Westchester Airport and Sikorsky Memorial Airport, which is in Fairfield County, Connecticut. It has a fleet of 16 seaplanes offering shuttle service from Manhattan to Boston, Bridgeport, CT, and Washington, DC. The company lauds itself as being “the fastest way in and out of Manhattan”.
Per the Post, Tailwind Air’s amphibious plane service to Washington, DC is now fully operational, taking off from the East River in Manhattan’s Skyport Marina on East 23rd Street, and landing at a private aircraft terminal at Dulles International Airport. The fast-growing company had successfully launched it’s Boston route last year, which lands passengers at Fan Pier in the Boston Harbor, just minutes to the Financial District and Back Bay. The company had started out with just seasonal service to and from the Hamptons, and now operates both amphibious and land-only aircraft to nine destinations from its Manhattan base, including routes to East Hampton, Sag Harbor, Shelter Island, Montauk, Provincetown, MA Plymouth, MA and Bridgeport,Connecticut.. Due to cold weather restrictions, like ice or snow on the East River, Tailwind Air seaplane services only typically operate from mid-March through mid-December.
The nonstop flights to and from DC on the Cessna Grand Caravan, with eight seats, operate daily Monday through Friday, with a 75-85 minute estimated arrival time. Prices for one-way tickets begin at about $395, depending on availability and advance purchase. Discounted prepaid bookings for 10, 20, and 50 tickets are available. Tailwind’s Fast Lane Club membership costs $2,995 per person annually, offering clients considerable savings with unlimited heavily discounted flying. “This is the fastest way to get from Manhattan to DC, and it bypasses the crowds and stress of commercial airports and train stations,” said Manice. “The service is not unlike a private charter, but without the massive expense,” Manice noted.
Manhattan’s Skyport had first opened in 1936 for seaplane travel, aiming to cut travel time by sidestepping the trip to LaGuardia or Kennedy airport and taking off right from the city center. “Our business is 50% business travelers, 50% leisure, but the business side is growing,” Manice said. “Our service saves time and stress, and time is money. Business travelers who understand the value of time are our main customers. You can arrive 10 minutes before take-off. There are no lines or crowds. You bypass the usual frustration of traveling the Northeastern corridor. The new route is the ultimate fast lane to DC.”
Mr. Manice told the Post that Tailwind Air has more expansion plans, include adding more new routes as well as more daily flights in existing routes to seasonal leisure destinations, beginning in 2023.
