British Columbia

Downtown-to-downtown seaplane service set to launch between Vancouver and Seattle

Daily seaplane flights between Vancouver's Coal Harbour and downtown Seattle set to launch later this month

4 daily flights will connect the two Cascadia business hubs starting April 26

Harbour Air is launching weekday service between Coal Harbour and Seattle starting April 24. (Fly Over Canada, Harbour Air Seaplanes & Pan Pacific Vancouver)

The Cascadia connections between Vancouver and Seattle are about to grow a little stronger with the arrival of new downtown-to-downtown seaplane service between the two cities.

Starting April 26, Vancouver's Harbour Air and U.S. partner Kenmore Air will run four flights daily Monday to Friday between Coal Harbour in Vancouver and Lake Union and Lake Washington near Seattle.

The plan to launch the service has been in the works for years and is heralded as a way to strengthen business and tourism connections between the two Pacific Northwest hubs.

B.C. Premier John Horgan applauded the announcement as a "significant milestone," while Microsoft president Brad Smith called it "an important link in connecting the Cascadia innovation corridor."

Microsoft's headquarters are in Redmond, Washington, close to Lake Washington. It also has hundreds of employees at its downtown Vancouver location.

Estimated flight time between the two cities is one hour and five minutes.