Mumbai:
A sea plane service that began today connects Mumbai to tourist destinations in the Western Ghats, providing an alternative to four or five hour long drives on the Mumbai-Pune expressway.
The inaugural fare is Rs 2999 one way till September 15. The operators said they could revise it after that, but not by much.
"We will try to keep it as economical and interesting as possible so the maximum people can utilise and enjoy the services," said Siddharth Verma, Director at Mehair, which will run the service along with the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation.
The service cuts short travel time to about 45 minutes to destinations like Mula Dam near Shirdi, Gangapur dam in Nashik and Dhoom dam near Mahabaleshwar, with the added advantage that the Cessnas can take off and land in water. While a Cessna 208 Amphibian aircraft can carry up to nine passengers, a Cessna 206 Amphibian can carry four.
The inaugural flight flew nine passengers to the Pavana reservoir near Lonavala from the Juhu aerodrome today. The operators plan to add destinations like Shirdi, Nashik and Mahabaleshwar.
The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation and Mehair plan to connect beaches within Mumbai too for business travelers coming into downtown Mumbai from the crowded suburbs, but that idea is still being studied for feasibility.
Clearances were stuck for two years, but new union transport minister Nitin Gadkari helped push those and the Congress-led Maharashtra government, in election mode, has wasted no time in starting the service.