Does the prospect of shoehorning yourself onto a heaving Greek ferry fill you with dread? Prefer the sound of seeing the islands by romantic air safari instead?…
Does the prospect of shoehorning yourself onto a heaving Greek ferry fill you with dread? Prefer the sound of seeing the islands by romantic air safari instead?
Head to Corfu. From this week, vintage seaplanes will be skimming around the harbours of the Ionian Islands in the west of Greece. Agents on Corfu report the first flights as `oversold. We have started operating two flights a day to meet demand`. Passengers are returning ecstatic from their 40 minute soar over the stunning Ionian sea.
For decades, the Ionians have suffered the lack of a decent ferry service to connect the seven islands. Not surprisingly residents are ecstatic about the sudden prospect of having their own shuttle service which will operate all year round.
The new operator, Airsea Lines, is a private Greek Canadian venture which could spell overnight relief to thousands who currently rely on seasonal sea routes.
Airsea Lines announced the first daily service between the major tourist destinations of Corfu and Kefalonia, with connections to the other Ionian Islands such as Zakynthos, Paxos and Lefkada. Flights to Italy are also soon to be announced.
Until now, island hoppers gave these islands a wide berth, as it was virtually impossible to sweep from north to south without a laborious connection on the Greek mainland. Similarly, conventional air routes are direct into Athens rather than inter-island.
Even the more remote Dodecanese fare better when it comes to inter-island transport. The residents of Halki and Leros for example are connected to Rhodes even in the depths of winter. Some of these islands are calling themselves `Alcatraz`, unable to obtain basic food supplies on a regular basis.
The journey from Corfu Town to Kefalonia involves three separate ferries explained Airsea Lines Managing Director Mike Patellis. Now it takes only twenty minutes by seaplane. He hopes prices will be fixed by next week but are single fares are thought to be in the region of between 35 and 100 euros. Corfu`s pretty neighbour, Paxos, which is especially popular with well heeled British and Italian holidaymakers, is a spectacular seven minute flight instead of a two hour ferry ride.
The trip is likely to evoke nostalgia for a bygone era of air travel. The average age of their seaplanes is ten years.
Airsea Lines` fleet of three craft consists of three nineteen seat DHC 6 De Havilland Twin Otters. They plan to increase the fleet to twenty five over the next five years.
Our concept is to connect places which are ignored by the Greek transport system says Mr Patellis. Next year we hope to have a base in the smaller Cycladic islands. This will help island communities like Folegandros, often cut off entirely when the Meltemi plays havoc with shipping during July and August.
Airsea Lines will branch out around the rest of the country – like northern Greece for example. We have also earmarked five other `hub bases` such as Thessaloniki to reach places like Kavala and the Sporades islands where there are currently no proper links he adds.
Airsea Lines is part-owned by Harbour Air, a well established Canadian seaplane company operating around Vancouver and its nearby archipeligo of islands.
It says that over the next few years it wants to become the leading provider of efficcient, affordable and reliable harbour-to-harbour seaplane services to Greece and ultimately the rest of Europe.
The company is starting with sightseeing and charger flights and from early October, a full range of scheduled services.
As well as gaining the know how of our parent company, we have brought over Canadian pilots specially for the first season. They will be training Greek pilots to take their place next year say Patellis.
It has been over sixty years since seaplanes regularly flew in and out of Greek harbours.
A history of seaplanes in Greece
AirSea Lines aircraft are not the first seaplanes to operate in Greece. Flisvos harbour near Athens in the early 1900`s was filled with seaplanes. Ironically location is the proposed base of operations in Athens for Airsea Lines.
After a full renovation, the seaplanes cabin interiors have been given a stylish makeover in the company`s blue and orange livery. Air hostesses will be on hand to sooth any nerves and point out any interesting spots visible from the low flying aircraft.
One of the advantages of seaplane travel is that as they fly lower than normal airplanes the views are fantastic. For this reason we will also have day sightseeing tours on top of the regular flights to that tourists can see lots of islands from our Corfu base explained Parissi.
Specially constructed floating piers allow passengers to hop from port to plane. Seaports will be equipped with proper security and luggage control, as well as a refreshment stand.
The best bit however is that according to the airline, passengers can arrive even fifteen minutes before the flight leaves.
Traditional ferry operators are ready to meet the challenge. A spokesperson for Minoan Lines, the largest ferry operator in Greece said that she believed that most of their customers would stay loyal rather than switch to seaplane.
Ferries are still the only way to travel for those taking their car, said Katherine Zoula. It is also much chaper and more relaxing.
From this October, Airsea Lines will add Greek mainland destinations which will change the lives of the local population overnight. The flight to Ioannina in the mountainous province of Epirus will land on Lake Pamvotis.
Corfu businessman Harry Tsoukalas says It is fantastic for us to have a daily direct route to the main hospital in Ioannina, it saves a two hour ferry ride and two to three hour drive, not to mention the cost of expensive tickets and fuel.
The second destination, Patras in the western Peloponnese and the third, Thessaloniki.
When flights to Brindisi in Italy materialise, shopping trips will be on the cards; flights will take forty five minutes by seaplane which is a normally an eight hour ferry trip from Corfu.
This is good news for travel agents like Noula Musakidis of San Stefano Travel who is organising a series day and weekend trips and shopping excursions for tourists who want to combine Greece and Italy for the first time.
In truth, Greeks are praying for anything which will give a much needed boost to their tourism. Despite the halo of the successful Olympic Games this August, arrivals have plummeted in some areas by forty per cent. Many hotels and business have simply closed down for the summer.
The thousands of British living and working on Corfu are thrilled by the faster connections to areas poorly served by ferries and flying dolphins, even during peak summer months. During winter, many routes close down altogether.
Nick and Ross Myatt moved to Corfu from Gloucestershire a year ago to set up their own furniture restoration business called Anaplasis. Things are going well, except they can lose days reaching clients on nearby islands.
Now, our growing customer base on Paxos can get here much quicker. We can nip here and there. It can only be good for the island.
Claudia Pottinger, a chef who quit London with partner Ben to set up her Corfu based gourmet food delivery service is also impressed. It sounds fantastic. It will certainly make our lives richer and easier. We can now explore these other places – and who knows even air-deliver our food elsewhere.
It will also provide a craftier route back to the UK for many holiday home owners. Charter flights fly direct to Corfu between May and October but these are weekly and seats can be hard to find. Getting on a scheduled flight via Athens is a headache.
Now we can hook up with the Ryanair flight from Brindisi to Stanstead, which means we can get home all year round says Nick.
The only drawback is that buying advance tickets may prove a problem. Airsea Lines is currently struggling under the usual delays involved in Greek bureaucracy. Consequently, their website is still under construction, it should be ready in days or weeks, so for those interested in seaplane travel, hang on in there.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
