Surf Air Mobility is to establish a base for seaglider operations in Miami to provide passenger transport service for south Florida, including routes from Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach and the Caribbean Islands. This deal is the continuation of a longstanding relationship between its subsidiary Southern Airways and Regent. The seagliders may enter service as soon as 2027.

Approximately nine million passengers travel through south Florida each year across commercial air, ferry, rail and car. Miami-based seaglider operations could serve as many as 1.5 million passengers annually, connecting travellers between coastal destinations as well as major transportation hubs including Miami International airport and PortMiami.

Surf Air Mobility is uniquely positioned to commercialise and scale new innovative technologies in the regional air mobility space. As the largest commuter airline in the US by scheduled departures, Surf Air intends to leverage its existing passengers, operator relationships and unprecedented commercial relationships with other industry leaders to be the platform for new vehicles like the Regent seaglider to come to market and grow more quickly.

“Regent seagliders are a great solution to the growing transportation needs of residents and visitors in Miami and south Florida,” says CEO Stan Little. “By leveraging our platform at Surf Air to bring new, electrified transportation to market, we believe Regent seagliders can unlock new routes along Florida's coastal corridors that complement our existing service networks and further our commitment to operating an electrified fleet.”

Surf Air recently acquired Southern Airways, which will take delivery of the first 12 passenger Viceroy seaglider under its Mokulele Airlines brand.

“We're thrilled to have Surf Air as our premier operating partner in Miami and south Florida,” says Regent CEO Billy Thalheimer. “Our shared vision for sustainable transportation is equally matched by the forward-thinking public leaders and infrastructure providers in Miami working to accelerate the adoption of innovative and environmentally friendly transportation technologies like seagliders.”

Seagliders are purpose-built to serve coastal and island communities, seagliders operate exclusively over the water and leverage existing dock infrastructure to carry people and goods up to 180 miles using today's battery technology.

“Miami-Dade County is leading the way in building a vibrant economy, environment and transportation system that serves our rapidly growing population,” says Oliver G Gilbert III, chairman of the board of commissioners in Miami-Dade County. “Adding seagliders into our network of advanced mobility technologies will grow our state and local economies and serve as a model for metropolitan transportation networks worldwide.”