Photos: Irina Ivanova
It seems that this is the end of geography - Jebel Ali, indeed, is located where the residential areas of Dubai are already ending. Industrial zone, warehouses, port, construction, and suddenly - a green island of the territory adjacent to the hotel of the same name. A golf club, park paths, a cozy restaurant and - that’s what I went here for - “Sea Wings” will take me to the blue heavens right from the coastal waves of the turquoise Persian Gulf.
Everything is real here, check-in is made with the presentation of a passport and the issuance of a boarding pass. But you can’t do without an opening party, because the entire event was organized for the press with the goal of introducing a new route and its vast and diverse capabilities.
Who and what
Seawings LLC ("Sea Wings") is the only company in the Middle East that provides excursion services for seaplane flights. In collaboration with the Emirates Palace hotel, a whole new comprehensive program was developed, including four options for an exclusive vacation. Seawings President Stuart Wheeler dwelt in detail on each type of such journey, which begins with a light seaplane departure from Dubai, runs along the Persian Gulf coastline to the capital itself with splashdown near the beach of Emirates Palace Hotel, and then, after an exciting day of rest on an individual program, culminating in a return to Dubai.
At the “request of the workers”, an excursion on a seaplane can be supplemented with one of the options for a useful and pleasant pastime: Anantara SPA - a visit to the company SPA with the adoption of one of the eight types of massage offered here, lasting 60 minutes; Emirates Palace Dophin - seaplane passengers have the opportunity to watch amazing mammals - funny and good-natured dolphins frolic in the territorial waters of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. A special boat departs with five passengers on board. Another holiday program is Royal Fly and Dine, when the journey begins in the afternoon. After admiring the water landscape through the porthole, vacationers can enjoy fine dining at Emirates Palace's Le Vendome Restaurant. And finally, Emirates Palace Exclusive Beach Access - travelers who have arrived in Abu Dhabi on a seaplane, are given a unique opportunity to spend the whole day on the hotel beach with a mass of services usually provided only to hotel guests.
To fly over the Gulf, Seawings has a fleet of three Cessna 208 Caravan amphibious aircraft. Its staff consists of 70 employees and qualified pilots with more than 36 thousand hours of flight each.
Soaring above palm trees ...
Having no experience of traveling on hydroplanes, all journalists were looking forward to the adventure. Before the flight, each of us was offered a relaxing massage of the neck and shoulder girdle, soft drinks and canapé snacks. Soon, everyone was invited to land. After passing control - checking boarding passes and hand luggage (photos and video equipment), we grated along the ramp leading directly to the amphibian skis. Seawings ground crew assisted aboard. And here we are, finally, in the cabin: air-conditioned air, wide porthole windows opening a panoramic view, comfortable leather chairs with a bottle of mineral water and a flight map in their pocket. We settle down, listen to the briefing of our smiling pilot Reggie, buckle up and ... From the screw!
An almost weightless airplane instantly turns around, heads for the capital and begins to disperse along the water surface. One, two, three - the seaplane jumps up and, under the cheers of passengers, takes off, raising a sea of spray! We make a couple of turns over the islands of Palm Jebel Ali and Mir, and then, trying to check the map, I completely lose my orientation. It turns out that the familiar landscape from a height of 1000 m becomes completely unrecognizable. Not upset for long. Well, let it be, I don’t understand where we are, but around is indescribable beauty! Half an hour of flight flew by so inconspicuously that the 120-meter-high flagpole of the Abu Dhab Marina seemed to completely baffle me - I thought we were still over Dubai. We are going down, the details are getting larger and more distinct. Landing on the water went softly, we slipped as if on ice on skates. We stopped 300 meters from the beach of the Emirates Palace hotel. I wonder where is the ladder? Are we going to swim ashore? Oh no! An orange inflatable motor boat is already rushing in our direction and is moored near the hydroplane ski. Three metal steps need to jump. It was thought that by the way I preferred sneakers to heeled sandals. Dark-skinned boatmen kindly help indecisive young ladies get into the boat without complications. Finally, everyone was relocated and taken to the marina with a breeze.
Lunch break
At the entrance to the hotel we are already waiting for quick waiters in snow-white starch shirts and offer freshly squeezed juices and nuts. Now we pass into the power of the hotel staff. They lead us on a tour of the Emirates Palace, starting with generously gilded corridors leading to the luxurious Anantara SPA. It is a pity that not one of the massages available in the arsenal of the salon is included in the program for journalists!
Then we find ourselves in an extraordinarily beautiful room the size of a small conference room and worthy of the presidents of world powers, and then - in the restaurant Le Vendome, where we are invited to dine in a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere. The buffet of this restaurant is plentiful and varied. Desserts are surprisingly harmoniously matched by taste combinations. But at the dinner table the whole honest company lingered also because we needed to share with each other, finally, the impressions of what we saw.
The return trip seemed to me very short, probably due to the fact that I did not want to part with such a friendly and cheerful pilot Reddy, as well as with an amazing sense of flying, with a sea view outside the window, which presented itself in a new “non-dusty” light, with a dream , which gave us the "Sea Wings" of Dubai.
This is not all that I would like to talk about. But there must always be an understatement, prompting a person to action, to new achievements and knowledge. Therefore, I leave you this opportunity - to discover the amazing, to see familiar cities beyond new horizons, to choose what is interesting to you personally. Sea Wings are waiting for you to familiarize yourself with charter flight programs, the possibility of conducting business flights, traveling to the east coast, personal exclusive flights and regular sightseeing tours.
For more information and pricing, go to www.seawings.ae.
