Landing on Water

Ireland has a great tradition of seaplanes and flying boats - at Foynes transatlantic flights once started from the Shannon's surface and from Lough Erne British warplanes fought in the Battle of the Atlantic. Now HarbourAir Ireland is planning to build upon this tradition. By providing flights between major Irish cities and commercial centers.

The concept is as simple as time-proven: in Canada scheduled commercial flights starting off a lake's surface are commonplace. The advantage being that apart from a jetty and the occasional refuelling point you need no infrastructure. And with modern seaplanes seating around twenty fare-paying passengers, ticket prices will not be exorbitant. Indeed there is talk of fare lower than € 60 in Ireland now.

Possible touch-down points for HarbourAir Ireland have already been identified. Apart from a resurrection of the Shannon estuary as a seaplane basis, the three other destinations are right in the middle of the action:

• in Dublin the Liffey off Sir John Rogerson's Quay, right opposite the IFSC;
• in Cork Horgan's Quay, next to the teain station and
• in Belfast next to the Odyssey Centre.

By the way - though the aircraft are on floats, they are equipped for a touchdown on dry land as well.

Still sounds unlikely? Well, ages ago I was sceptical when a company started offering sightseeing flights in Hamburg harbor. And this became a viable operation for many years. So a keenly priced flight connecting industrial and financial hubs, landing within walking distance of board- and meeting rooms, does not sound too far-fetched. As usual, only time will tell.

Photo © 2008 Bernd Biege licensed to About.com,