Gamble on a flight from New York to the Hamptons
Andre Balazs' Standard hotel in Manhattan is launching a summer seaplane service to the Hamptons, and is offering passengers the option to play its "Flight Board" game for a shot at seats as low as $30.
The flights are on board a bright red, eight-passenger Cessna seaplane called StndAir. Passengers can sign up to play the Flight Board for a chance to book off-peak flights between 9 a.m. and 7p.m., Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Flight Board flights are also available Sunday mornings and Mondays after noon.
"Seat prices increase as the plane becomes full, so join early for the best rates," the StndAir website advises. "Your flight can be bumped off the board if someone takes your desired time slot and charters the entire plane in full, or gets seven friends onboard before you do."
Flights on the Flight Board that depart on Friday, July 1, for the Fourth of July weekend, for instance, currently range from $30 to $295 each way, depending on how full the flights are, and contingent on them filling up and later bookers being willing to throw down even more.
Flight Board destinations include East Hampton, Shelter Island, Montauk and Nantucket.
And while the Flight Board offers a chance for seats as low as $30, regularly scheduled flights between New York and East Hampton cost $495 each way with between one and four departures daily, depending on the date.
The service started this past Memorial Day weekend and runs through Oct., 2011.
The StndAir is available for charter service to any East Coast destination within a 300-mile radius of New York, which includes Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod in Massachusetts, as well as the Hudson Valley.
The plane is operated by Shoreline Aviation as part of their FAA Part135 Air Carrier Operations. Flights depart from and land at New York Skyports Marina, located at 2430 FDR Drive on the East River at 23rd Street (the dock is to the left of the Gulf Gas Station at 23rd Street).
More from Budget Travel:
Will you be flying this summer?