Just Add Water

If Richard O'Such has his way, there will soon be a new air service available from New York City to Long Beach Island (NJ). Another new commercial venture in an aviation world of falling prospects? Not just. O'Such wants to do it with floatplanes.

Press reports suggest that O'Such plans to take wealthier workers from Manhattan to their vacation homes in New Jersey, flying two Cessna Caravans, modified with floats. Each would carry up to eight passengers at a time. O'Such wants to make ten flights a week, centered on the weekends.

But he has some 'splainin' to do among the pretty people of Long Beach Island, who are reportedly less than enthusiastic about the proposed venture. So O'Such went to LBI recently to pitch the idea. "The demographics on LBI have changed. The people who buy these homes here live in New York City and their families vacation here, while they have to drive three or four hours on a Friday night," he told them. No word yet on whether he convinced anyone. Then again, just the thought three to four hours of grueling New York and New Jersey traffic might change some minds. At least, that's what O'Such is hoping.

No Cheap Seats

What will New Yorkers pay for such a service? Already, Shoreline Aviation of New Haven (CT) is flying between the Big Apple and Long Island (NY). Shoreline also uses floatplanes, flying from a private dock on the Hudson River in NYC. The fare is $335/one-way. But the trip takes only 35 minutes, as opposed to hours in bumper-to-bumper expressway traffic.

O'Such has partnered up with Shoreline to create his new service. He'll start with just one Caravan, which will cost him $1.8 million. He figures to charge around $240 per leg. Already, O'Such says he has the FAA permits he needs. The New Jersey State Police will meet with him soon at a remote island near LBI, where officials say the boat traffic will least likely be a problem.

If O'Such's Caravan-on-floats does encounter a boat, he has to give way. But even that isn't enough to convince residents of Harvey Cedars (NJ), many of whom are mighty resentful about the rich newcomers taking over their town. "What is this going to do for Harvey Cedars?" asked one woman at a town hall meeting where more than 100 people attended recently. "No one here is going to use the service. It's for the people in Loveladies."

But O'Such says his would be a home-grown service. "I'm not a foreigner coming from out of town to make a quick buck on Harvey Cedars," he said at the meeting. "I know the names of the islands and the birds that nest there."

FMI: www.harveycedars.org, www.shorelineaviation.com