Skip the line and add some style with this new Kelowna flight

• Seaplane lands on Okanagan Lake
• Passengers promised more convenient experience
• Flight from Kelowna to Vancouver one pilot’s favourite

Lost luggage piled in heaps, long security lines, and regular flight delays currently plague airports across Canada and the globe.

It's left many dreading the thought of getting on a plane, even for a simple jaunt to the Lower Mainland.

But there is now a another option that let's you skip the airport entirely, taking passengers not only on a direct flight to Vancouver, but promising an experience along the way.

Harbour Air is booking flights on its seaplanes, which depart from the Eldorado Resort, and land directly in Coal Harbour, Vancouver.

“Convenience has a lot to do with it,” the resort’s general manager, Mark Jeanes, told Kelowna10. “People are very pressed for time these days … and you know, travelling can be challenging as we all know these days and so the convenience is second to none.”

Pilots radio ahead to the resort when arriving in the Okanagan, prompting workers on jet skis to clear the landing area of boats. After the plane touches down, it taxis to the dock. Passengers disembarking and are treated to a glass of sparkling wine.

The trip takes about an hour, comparable to flights from YLW to YYZ, but check-in is much quicker.

“Being able to sort of, drive up to the front of the hotel, check in in five minutes, walk out to your plane in 15 minutes and be on it and take an hour to downtown, that saves a lot of time,” Jeanes said.

The partnership between Eldorado and Harbour Air started a couple of years ago. Kelowna is an extension of the flight network that already exists along the west coast.

One-way flights between Kelowna and Vancouver start at $299.

Burt Wright is the chief pilot at Harbour Air and learned to fly in Kelowna. Having flown for more than two decades in a variety of cockpits, he said being behind the controls of the seaplane is his favorite.

As the aircraft is non-pressurized, it flies lower than other jets, at around 10,000 feet, meaning passengers won't miss the breathtaking scenery.

“It’s one of the most beautiful flights that you can take,” Wright said. “You’re getting the combination of ocean and mountains all in one shot."

“I’ve been doing this Kelowna to Vancouver flight for the better part of 20 years and it’s probably my favorite one that I’ve done in the world so far.”