Seaplane to Bimini

[Saqer]

This week a friend and I are heading to Bimini for 4 days to dive. Tropic Airways has a restriction of 30 pounds per passenger and informed us it's $1.50/pound extra with no guarantees, and we may need to pay for an extra seat. I just weighed my scuba gear and it's at 35 not including my clothes and other things. Has anyone flown them before and have any recommendations on what to do other than pay for an extra seat?

 

[diverswifey]

First, I am not being facetious here. I remember pricing Tropic before and it was pretty pricey- I assume that you are flying from Indianapolis to south Florida to take Tropic to Bimini. I know Silver is not the most reliable airline but I flew them from FLL to Bimini a couple of years ago. I am pretty sure that taking a chance on your gear arriving or not would ruin your trip so have you considered changing your flight plans? The Tropic plane can only take so much of a weight load so I would think they are very serious about the restrictions- we have flown small non-seaplanes on Aztec, Watermakers, Flamenco, etc. and they definitely weighed each person and each piece of baggage, including purses, backpacks, etc.
If you have already gone, please let us know how it worked out - happy travels!

 

[Saqer]

Thanks I’m not normally a risk taker but took one and it was ok. Ended up paying overages but just one way. Wouldn’t do it again though especially during spring break. Bring early and checking our bags first helped.