Bahamas Seaplane Service Expands

Fort Lauderdale-based Tropic Ocean Airways, which reinstituted regular seaplane service in 2012, has announced the addition of an eight- passenger seaplane.

The FAA certified Part 135 on-demand charter company currently offers scheduled flights to Bimini (Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Monday) and charters seven days a week to anywhere in the Bahamas, the Florida Keys and Florida.

In Bimini, which is less than a 30-minute flight from South Florida, Tropic Ocean Airways offers packages to the historic Bimini Big Game Club Resort and Marina and other properties. Also featured is a package for the Holiday Isle resort in Islamorada.

Tropic Ocean Airways is currently the only US based seaplane airline authorized by the Bahamian government to service the North Bimini Seaplane Base (formerly operated by the now defunct Chalk’s International Airline).

The eight-passenger Cessna Caravan Amphibian joins with Tropic Ocean’s four-passenger Cessna 206.

“Additional airlift into Bimini is always positive news,” said Michael Weber, general manager for the 51-room Bimini Big Game Club Resort and Marina, located in Alice Town. “Sixty percent of our guests arrive by air, and to come by seaplane is growing in popularity. It’s a great way to see the island and certainly adds to the overall island adventure.”

Rob Ceravolo, a Navy Top Gun-rated fighter pilot, and partner Nick Veltre, founded tropic Ocean Airways in 2012. The company’s pilots include military aviators and seaplane instructors.