Seaplane company ready to fly to dry capital Ankara

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet

Seabird, the seaplane company which flies to two tourism destinations, is seeking to expand its business that may face a large shrinkage in winter.

Seabird, Turkey’s sole scheduled sea plane company, is preparing to fly to the Turkish capital Ankara next month.

The company, which started flights from Istanbul’s Golden Horn to the island of Bozcaada in the northwest and Alaçatı on the Aegean coast, is waiting for approval from the Transport Ministry and the country’s civil aviation authority to launch Ankara as a destination, executives told daily Hürriyet.
“We are ready to fly to Ankara. There is dense traffic between Ankara and Istanbul,” an executive said.
According to the company the flight would take 75 minutes, which is slightly longer than an ordinary air trip. However, the seaplanes would land on Gölbaşı, a small lake close to central Ankara, saving time in accessing the city.

The company achieved 85 percent capacity utilization this summer in flights to Bozcaada and Alaçatı, two tourism destinations, Chairman Kürşad Arusan said.

The company’s growth plans also include flying to neighboring Greece.