Your Commute Just Got Wetter And Faster Thanks to the Electric Bathtubs of the Future
Image Credit: Regent.
We need to talk about flying boats. Or perhaps, skimming airplanes. Electric ones, naturally. Because if it ain't got a plug, frankly, I'm barely interested these days.
The good people at UrbanLink are planning something rather bold down in the sun-drenched, traffic-choked paradise that is South Florida. And Puerto Rico, too, apparently. They're planning to cannonball into the electric mobility waters with a belly flop of epic proportions. Specifically, they're going big on something called a seaglider. Although it sounds like a graceful albatross gently kissing the waves, don't be fooled. These things, built by a company named REGENT Craft, look less like an albatross and more like a slightly confused small plane that decided wheels were overrated and pontoons were the future.
And UrbanLink? They haven't just ordered a couple for a laugh or a Sunday afternoon pootle. Instead, they had ordered 27 of these Viceroy models last year, which, even by modern 'order-everything-in-sight-and-see-what-sticks' standards, seemed like a decent punt. But now? Less than a year later, they've nearly doubled that initial order. Forty-seven electric seagliders.
Image Credit: Regent.
So, what exactly is this 'seaglider' contraption they're throwing all this money at? Imagine a hydrofoil boat that thinks it's a plane. It uses its wings to lift out of the water at speed, riding on a cushion of air right above the surface. Not flying properly, mind you, not up in the fluffy clouds with the big jets. No, this is low-altitude stuff. Skimming height. Just high enough, presumably, to avoid rogue waves, particularly enthusiastic dolphins, or Bob on his jet ski showing off.
Why on earth would you want one of these? UrbanLink reckons they can absolutely slash travel times on coastal routes. Take the dreaded schlep from Miami to West Palm Beach. By car? Depending on the time of day, the alignment of the planets, and whether it's tourist season (which is always, isn't it?), that can be an exercise in automotive purgatory. An hour? Two? More? UrbanLink claims the seaglider could cut that down by nearly 75%. That's the kind of time saving that makes you sit up and pay attention. Unless you like sitting in traffic, in which case, carry on.
Their grand plan? To start with, the 12-passenger vessels will connect places like South Florida and Puerto Rico. That's island hopping, but slightly higher off the water and without the risk of getting seasick from constant bobbing. They reckon that in Miami alone, once things are up and running commercially, these seagliders could ferry up to 4.3 million passengers a year.
Image Credit: Regent.
What do we know about the machine itself? The prototype Viceroy can carry 12 passengers. It can hit a top speed of 180 miles per hour. And it can travel up to 180 miles on a single charge. 180, 12, 180. There's a nice, neat symmetry to those numbers… Almost too neat. Makes you wonder if they rounded up. Or down. But let's assume for a moment they're spot on. 180 miles per hour is certainly faster than sitting on I-95 during rush hour. And 180 miles of range covers a fair bit of coastline.
But the dimensions? The sheer physical size of the beast? The power output of those electric motors pushing it along? The actual, specific capacity of the battery pack measured in kilowatt-hours? And the price! The price per unit for these 47 glorious water-skimmers? Not a peep. It's like they want to keep a little air of mystery about the whole thing. Or perhaps they figure if you have to ask the price of a part-plane, part-boat electric taxi service that skims across the water, you probably can't afford it anyway. A classic approach, really. Keeps the riff-raff guessing.
Despite the missing numbers, UrbanLink is clearly all in. They've been buying up commitments from all sorts of electric aircraft hopefuls – eVTOLs from companies like Archer Aviation, and other electric planes from others like Eviation Aircraft and Lilium. It seems their strategy is less about picking a winner and more about backing every horse in the zero-emission air mobility race. Which, I suppose, is one way to hedge your bets.
Image Credit: Regent.
They've been working on this 'end-to-end zero-emission travel' idea for years now, apparently, aiming for a 500-mile range network by 2028, expanding to a thousand miles by 2030. Big goals, those. And they seem genuinely convinced they'll be the first airline in the US to integrate eVTOLs and, of course, the seagliders, into their fleet.
UrbanLink's founder, Ed Wegel, is understandably chuffed about the whole thing. He's calling it "revolutionary technology" and reckons it puts Florida "at the forefront of global innovation in advanced, all-electric mobility." REGENT's CEO, Billy Thalheimer, is equally delighted, calling the expanded order a "clear vote of confidence" and a "testament to our continued timely execution." Always good to hear they're executing things in a timely fashion.
Now, the fly in the ointment? We're not going to see these things zipping about tomorrow. Or even next year. The first deliveries of the Viceroy seagliders to UrbanLink aren't expected until sometime in 2027. So, you've still got a few years to perfect your traffic-sitting techniques or invest in a really good audiobook for your Miami-to-West Palm Beach crawl.
Image Credit: Regent.
Look, I keep a healthy journalistic skepticism about any new technology that promises to solve all our problems (especially traffic), but there's something undeniably cool about this. Electric. Skimming across the water. Fast. It bypasses the roads, bypasses the crowded airports. It's a novel approach, a genuinely different way to get from A to B along the coast. If they can get them certified, built on time, and running reliably, and if the economics actually work out (and that's a massive 'if' without knowing the price), then maybe, just maybe, UrbanLink and REGENT are onto something here.
It's the kind of idea that sparks the imagination. The hum of electric motors, the spray off the pontoons as you lift onto the air cushion, the coastline blurring past at speeds usually reserved for aircraft. It's certainly more exciting than another SUV. So, while I'm not selling my car just yet, and I'll wait to see one of these things in action (and perhaps riding in one) before I fully declare it the future of coastal travel, I'll be watching with keen interest. And maybe a life jacket. Just in case.
