More great Kai Tak news!
www.waterfrontair.com
Looks like Peter de Kantzow is busy at keeping the Kai Tak memory alive! Re-booting his father's and Hong Kong's first commercial seaplane operation; hats off to these guys!
DATE:10/09/09 SOURCE:Flight Daily News
Waterfront Air aims to begin Hong Kong seaplane operations in 2010
By Siva Govindasamy
Hong Kong's Waterfront Air aims to start seaplane operations from a site at Victoria Harbour adjacent to the old airport at Kai Tak from the end of 2010.
The company hopes to build a new Kai Tak waterfront aerodrome in Hong Kong and start with services to Macau using leased de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otters. It plans to extend the services to Guangzhou and Shenzhen eventually, adds Waterfront Air's founder and director Michael Agopsowicz.
He adds that it is seeking permission from the authorities to construct licenced water aerodromes in all of the cities. He says that it will fund the entire project privately.
"Since we started on the project two years ago we have been getting a better idea of the rules and regulations governing the operations of seaplanes. We have done a feasibility study and submitted an application to the authorities. There has been tremendous support from everyone. We plan to begin an environmental impact assessment and formal application process shortly." says Agopsowicz.
While there are extensive ferry and helicopter links between Hong Kong and Macau, he says that seaplanes tap into a different target market. "We eye the international travellers who want to add value to their trip, the affluent market,'' he adds.
Seaplanes were last used in Hong Kong in the 1960s. These were deployed for about 40 years on regular scheduled services to destinations like Macau and Guangzhou.
"The flight will take about 20 minutes and the view will be amazing. We are confident that it will prove to be a success." says Agopsowicz.
Last edited by Sicer; 20th Jan 2011 at 23:42.