Plane sailing ... commuters can dodge the traffic in one of Australia`s businest cities by flying to work.
New service for people sick of battling traffic
Flight takes 10 minutes from Bankstown
Can cut more than an hour off trip
FORGET the one-hour train trip into town or battling the tollways, Sydney commuters can now take a flight and be there in 10 minutes.
Sydney Seaplanes is offering peak-hour flights to and from Bankstown airport.
The amphibious nine-seater flies to and from the airport twice a day.
The flight takes off just after 7am and follows the Parramatta River, flying past Olympic Park before passing near the Harbour Bridge.
It lands on the water at Rose Bay about 600 seconds after takeoff.
Sydney Seaplanes then operates Australia`s only regular public transport scheduled seaplane service, with eight daily flights between Sydney and Newcastle.
A demand-basis flight then heads back to Bankstown after 5pm.
As Premier Nathan Rees considers dumping the Northwest Metro and other projects, the flights already have a tick from commuters.
Chief pilot Ron Britten said there was a market for people who were keen to avoid clogged roads.
"We are appropriately licensed for the trip - what we are offering here is very much an ad hoc service, so people would need to book. The flight takes about 10 minutes."
Commuters Brendan Faitrouni from Condell Park and Yagoona resident Parissa Wazir looked down on the city`s gridlocked roads from one of the flights last week.
Each spends about three hours journeying to and from work every day using taxis, trains and buses.
"It isn`t too bad on the way to my work - it usually takes an hour on the train," said Mr Faitrouni, who works at North Sydney.
"The way home it is terrible - there is only one train every 40 minutes from Central, so it takes 1 1/2 hours on a good day.
"I catch a cab home twice a week, which costs about $85 but it`s better than waiting for the train."
The flight costs $50 each way.
Ms Wazir pays $35 for a weekly ticket from Bankstown station to Town Hall and about $20 for the monorail to and from Pyrmont.
She said the flight would cut her travel times by at least an hour.
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