Air Caloosahatchee

When Jonathan Rector started to offer seaplane service from Naples to Key West last winter, he figured it would take a season to become established.

But by February, the route was profitable. “We actually did much better than we had anticipated and budgeted,” Rector says.

Now Rector is considering expanding Salt Island Seaplanes by adding a second amphibious plane that would take off from the Caloosahatchee River in downtown Fort Myers. Rector has been exploring waterfront locations and one site he says may fit is an empty building that used to house an art museum and sits on the edge of the river.

“We've got another pilot coming on in December and we're desperately trying to get a second airplane,” Rector says.

Already, winter business travel from Naples to Key West is busy with early visitors. “We're booked every day this week,” Rector says.

And it's not just leisure travelers who are using the seaplane service. “I'm kind of surprised at the number of business people we're getting,” says Rector, who recently flew lawyers to Key West for depositions. One-way fares cost $220 per person, competitive with walk-up fares for regularly scheduled airlines from Fort Myers.

In the summers, when the weather is unsettled in Florida, Rector flies hikers under contract to the Isle Royale National Park in Michigan. This summer has been exceptionally busy, he notes. A second plane will come in handy there, too: “We turned away 30 roundtrips just in month of August,” he says.