By Amy Zimmer
DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — Who wants to sit in traffic on a bus when a seaplane can whisk you to sunny East Hampton in 45 minutes?
The newly launched StndAir departs from Kips Bay’s Skyports Marina at East 23rd Street and the FDR Drive on Thursday and Friday afternoons with flights returning to the city on Sunday evening and Monday mornings.
It's the brainchild of Andre Balazs, of the hip Standard Hotel straddling the High Line, and rosé wine and and Swedish fish is also part of the luxe package.
The red-and-white eight-passenger Cessna sounds like the exclusive domain of Manhattan's elite. But tickets start at $30 making those two-plus hour bus rides to the Hamptons seem intolerable for even a budget weekender.
The earlier you buy, the cheaper it is. A Thursday morning flight with six seats left is going for $145, according to StndAir’s website.
But flyer beware, it is possible to get bumped if someone books your slot and charters the plane in full.
The service will run through Oct. 10 and will be available for charter flights for any East Coast destination within a 300-mile radius, such as Nantucket, Cape Cod and the Hudson Valley.
On Friday, the second day of the StndAir's service, Balazs hopped a plane in the afternoon to his Sunset Beach hotel on Shelter Island and was back in Manhattan before dinner.
Small pets up to 20 pounds are welcome, but golf clubs are a no-no as is luggage over 20 pounds.
