While we love a weekend getaway to the Hamptons, we don’t love sitting on the train for three hours. Enter: Tailwind Air, the seaplane airline that’ll get you there in 45 minutes (no, seriously).
Picture this: The hotel is booked, the reservations are made, and you’re headed to the Hamptons for a glorious summer weekend. Friday dawns with perfect weather, and rather than making your way to LIRR or the ferry, you head for East 23rd Street, where you arrive at the seaplane base entrance. Upon arrival, you enjoy the Tailwind Air lounge at New York Skyport seaplane base before boarding a seaplane that takes off directly from the East River, provides incredible views of Manhattan and delivers you safely to East Hampton, Montauk or Sag Harbor in only 45 minutes. While the majority of Hamptons weekenders are still stuck in traffic, you’ve already unpacked and grabbed a mojito (or three) thanks to Tailwind Air.
Founded in 2012, Tailwind Air is revitalizing the seaplane tradition, which dates back to before World War I, through their fleet of Cessna Caravan amphibian seaplanes. In addition to their Hamptons and Manhattan ports, Tailwind Air also provides service to Fan Pier and Rowes Wharf Marina in Boston, as well as Plymouth, Provincetown, Bridgeport, Shelter Island and Westchester. Not to mention, each seaplane seats only eight passengers, avoiding the inconveniences of huge commercial flights. See you in the skies!
See also: From Shelter Island to Newport: The Best Memorial Day Weekend Destinations
Photography by: lounge photos by Alfredo Maldonado; all other photos courtesy of Tailwind Air
