The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business 
Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A Fort Lauderdale-based seaplane company is looking to add a scheduled service into Hope Town, Abaco, come early 2014.

The service would be the second scheduled between Florida and the Bahamas for Fort Lauderdale-based Tropic Ocean Airways. The seaplane outfit, founded in 2012 by Navy fighter pilot Rob Ceravolo, and business partner Nick Veltre, also offers chartered services throughout the Bahamas.

Jarrod Sadulski, director of business development for the company, told Tribune Business: “The service is scheduled to start in early 2014. We’re going to have an eight-passenger seaplane.

“Our goal is to fly directly into Hope Town from the Fort Lauderdale International Airport. The logistics are still being work out, but that is our current plan. We believe that a market does exist there, and I think it will be a great opportunity for visitors and residents of the Abacos, particularly in Hope Town, to have that direct service from Fort Lauderdale.”

“We have scheduled service currently into Bimini. We also run charter service into most locations in the Bahamas that are available through Fort Lauderdale or Miami,” added Mr Sadulski.

“Everything has been growing great. We have been flying quite a bit with new flights into several different locations in the Bahamas. We’re also setting up charter service into West End and Old Bahama Bay. We’re currently working with Old Bahama Bay to fly in the guests directly to the resort in West End.”

Tropic Ocean Airways, is partnering with IJet Charters, also based in Fort Lauderdale, to offer direct scheduled public charter flights to Hope Town.

Direct scheduled chartered flights from Fort Lauderdale initially will be available on Fridays and Sundays. The seaplane flight time to Hope Town is around an hour and 10 minutes.

In service will be Tropic Ocean Airways’ new eight-passenger Cessna Caravan Amphibian Turbo Jet. IJet Charters also announced its new Air and Charter Service Desk, TrendRight Travel, which will be offering full travel services for flights and on-island accommodations.

Roundtrip tickets are expected to be priced starting at $699 per person, inclusive of all taxes and fees. Charters are available immediately, with direct scheduled public charter flights starting in February.