It was a long and winding road, but European Coastal Airlines added two more destinations to their flight schedule this week - Lumbarda nad Rijeka

Good news for the party crowd, as European Coastal Airlines announces the start of scheduled flights to Novalja on June 6, 2016 - flights start July 1.

Looking to get from the airport downtown quickly? You will be hard pressed to beat the European Coastal Airlines service in Split, which was road tested by TCN on May 26, 2016 - three minutes and 56 seconds! Watch the video. 

An historic day in the history of European seaplane aviation on May 18, 2016, as European Coastal Airlines lands at Pescara harbour, ahead of the opening of a seaport in the Italian city this summer. 

A European Coastal Airlines seaplane landed in Dubrovnik's port of Gruz on May 11, 2016, with some high-ranking Italian officials on board. With news on progress to extend the network to Albania, and seaports being establised in both Pescara and Ancona in record time by Croatian bureaucratic standards, what needs to be done to ensure that Dubrovnik is next to be added to the network after four years of negoatiations? TCN's Ivana Sepak took to the skies over the Pearl of the Adriatic to find out. 

As we reported on Total Croatia News earlier, today was an historic day for the city of Split, which received its first commercial seaplane flight since 1936, with an early morning arrival from Jelsa. Read about it here.  

This was followed by another first - the first direct flight to the island of Lastovo from downtown Split, with an unbelievable connection time of just 22 minutes. Suddenly, one of Croatia's most beautiful and traditional islands was accessible to all. But that was just part of the story... 

One had to fly over some interesting places first...

As a Hvar boy, the flight was fascinating. A great view of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Stari Grad Plain. 

And I had never realised that the inland villages were designed in such a straight line. 

The ridge of Central Hvar. To the left, northern Hvar, to the right, the fabled Plavac Mali vineyards of the sloping south side. 

And within seconds, we were over Hvar's highest peak, and looking at its southern shores. 

But not before appreciating the beauty of eastern Hvar. Long, thin, undiscovered. 

Take a peek on the other side and one can see one of the top 10 beaches in Europe - Dubovica. 

And on the way back, more than one hidden bay on Hvar's north side, near Brusje. 

How can one forget the island of Scedro, nestled quietly south of Hvar's southern shores? 

And one of the downsides of the seaplane experience - there is no time to collect one's breath. Hello Korcula! 

And then I got lost in islands. And more islands. All gorgeous. 

Too pretty.  

From whichever angle. 

And the prize of our end destination came into view.  

An island I had never visited but had heard (and was now seeing) great things about. 

Did I mention Croatia has more than 1000 islands?  

For some of course, the on-board excitement was all too much...  

A heavy police presence for this, the first flight to Lastovo. 

Some people call it Paradise.

Just 22 amazing minutes from Split. Book now.  

The European Coastal Airlines summer continues, and arguably the most popular route so far is the daily connection from Resnik near Split Airport to downtown Pula in Istria.

With a bus connection taking 11 hours and the seaplane just one, it is little wonder that the route - which includes a spectacular flight up the coast, flying low over Zadar, Sibenik and the Kornati islands - is a main attraction of the airlines. For tourists wanting to island hop, the chance to connect from Istria to Dalmatia in an hour is welcome, but more and more people are using it for the convenience of transfer for their everyday business.

Celebrities such as singer Oliver Dragojevic, for example, who flew to Pula this morning, a comfortable way to get to Istria ahead of his concert last night. Here is Oliver, pictured with ECA boss Klaus Dieter Martin. 

He was preceded by another celebrity frequent traveller, Emmy and Golden Pen winner Ashley Colburn, who has probably covered every inch of Croatia in the last few years. After enjoying her maiden seaplane flight to Split last night, she enjoyed a drink with ECA marketing director Jan Albers before expressing her gratitude for the service on Facebook:

Had a wonderful experience flying on a seaplane yesterday from Pula-Split! Finally a service that is not only EXTREMELY convenient, but a beautiful journey!

Why not book your seaplane flight today? 

While most people thought the core business of the European Coastal Airlines seaplane service would be reducing travel times for tourists, there are also two very distinct additional groups, which are growing in numbers on the ECA passenger manifests.

I have been using the service a little more than most as the Total geographical reach spreads, and it is striking not only how many people are taking photos during the flight (about 80%), but how many people are flying just for the panoramic experience and then immediately returning. 

And then there is ECA for business... 

I have met a few Hvar businessmen who cannot thank ECA enough for the connections to the mainland, especially during the winter, which have made meetings in and around Split possible. Relying on a winter ferry timetable plus the long travel time often necessitated an overnight stay, or no meeting at all. How that has changed...

I was recently contacted by a hotel resort in Istria, offering me some work, and I was delighted to accept. My problem was that in order to write about the resort, it would be best to visit it. With the bus to Pula (and Novigrad is even further) taking 11 hours each way and costing over 400 kuna last time I took it, had the seaplane option not been there, I would have politely declined due to logistics.

But the seaplane option IS there, and this is how it looks if you live on Hvar and have business to do in Istria.

A nice leisurely check-in at Jelsa International, surely one of the prettiest airports in the world. Take off time 08:10. 

Hvar from the air never gets boring, and I found myself in the 80% taking photos. 

Landing at Resnik close to Split Airport just before 08:30. One of my fellow passengers was a Norwegian with a flight out at 11:00. His only other option would have been the 05:30 ferry.

Time for a meeting and a coffee with a business partner in the very pleasant FlyIn cafe, where there was about half an hour to chat before the 09:00 flight to Pula. 

So many things to see on the flight, so many historic towns close up. 

And if I had counted all the islands I saw, it would have been in the hundreds. 

And a bonus flying into Pula - over the previously closed military peninsula of Muzil. 

And if the Romans had had this view, would they have remembered to build a roof on the amphitheatre? 

It certainly was a spectacular way to arrive. No expensive taxi from Pula Airport here, ECA delivers its passengers downtown, about 100m from Forum, the heart of the centre. The seaport is located close to the iconic Uljanik shipyard. Arrival time - just after 10:00, less than two hours after leaving Jelsa. And the cost is more than affordable, and much cheaper than the bus - Split to Pula one way is just 349 kuna, including VAT.

And could there any better symbol of how Pula is modernising as a destination than this? The first scheduled seaplane service in modern Europe in the foreground, the cranes of Uljanik in the background - Pula's new tourist attraction with the Visualia Lighting Giants show (see lead pic of this article - and Visualia 2015 starts today, so don't miss it if you are in Istria). 

The hotel kindly sent someone to meet me, and less than three hours after taking off from Jelsa, I was in position to experience some fine Istrian hospitality.

A business client I would never have had without the ECA service. The Pula service departs at 17:00, arriving back in Jelsa just before 19:00, so in terms of doing business, the schedule could not be better - a full seven hours in Pula and back to Split by 18:00. 

And what better way to finish a productive day in Istria than with a waterfront Mojito in Jelsa, just two hours after taking off from Pula?

Transfers, business, panorama flights - whatever your interest, the European Coastal Airlines experience is changing the way things are done on the Croatian coast. Why not try it for yourself and book now?

Summer is coming, and 2016 is going to be the easiest for island hopping and quick transfers.

European Coastal Airlines have been busy expanding their network over the winter, recently introducing the first international routes, from Rijeka Airport and downtown Split to Ancona. At the beginning of February, they will add Pescara to Split, as well as the big one - Dubrovnik Airport to downtown Split. The Adriaric coast is finally fully connected. 

And for those of you who like to plan early, there is more good news. ECA, which recently upgraded its booking system, is gradually opening bookings until the end of October, so you can book now for the best prices. PLEASE NOTE this is not for all destinations at this point, this is a gradual introduction. 

As of now you can book flights from downtown Split and Resnik (Split Airport) to Jelsa on Hvar, Vela Luka on Korcula and the island of Lastovo. Bookings to Ancona will be added next week, and other destinations after that. 

For more information about ECA flights and to book, click here.