Sea plane flights between Canberra and Sydney are expected to start next week, though the company behind them wouldn't give a commitment.
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But the National Capital Authority which governs the use of Lake Burley Griffin said Sydney Seaplanes would conduct a flight on Tuesday, October 3, and Tuesday, October 17, subject to weather conditions.
These, though, would not be commercial flights for fare-paying passengers, according to Aaron Shaw, founder and managing director of the company.
And he said it wasn't certain that they would happen.
He plans the two flights to make promotional material, like shooting video, but they would depend on things like the availability of a videographer.
The full flight service should then happen before the end of the year. Mr Shaw said there wouldn't be a firm schedule.
But the company has a licence to fly two flights a day between 9.30am and 4.30pm.
"You go when you have the passengers," Mr Shaw said.
The NCA said: "Sydney Seaplanes will initially offer one or two flights a week between the Lake and Rose Bay, Sydney before increasing to two flights a day as demand increases."
The chief executive of the NCA Sally Barnes thought at the time that early concerns had been diminished by people talking to each other.
"Everyone's a bit more settled that this is not about displacing people. There can be coexistence," she said.
One concern was what would happen if a plane was about to land and kayakers were spotted on Lake Burley Griffin.
Mr Shaw said that if the pilot spotted people on the water at the Canberra end, the plane would divert to the airport.
He was very enthusiastic.
"It's an hour flight. There's no airport hassle. It's beautiful. We are creating one of the world's great commuter services here," he said.
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The plan then was for three return flights a day. The first one would take off from the airport but the other two from the lake.
There would be nine passengers per flight in the single-prop Cessna. Each passenger would be allowed 10 kilos of luggage. There might be in-flight nuts.
That seems to have been tempered, to two flights a day, with an increase if the demand is there.
Mr Shaw thought the café at the National Museum of Australia could serve as a departure lounge.
The company was being coy on prices beyond saying that fares would be competitive.
In the past, they've been quoted as saying $300 a single ticket might be the mark.
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Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
