Rare bird

With so much waterfront property and islands, you might expect Southwest Florida's airspace to be a hotbed of seaplane activity.

But Jonathan Rector says his Naples-based company, Salt Island Seaplanes, is the only seaplane operator in the area after the retirement of Mark Futch of Boca Grande Seaplane.

Rector recently launched Salt Island Seaplane to connect passengers between Naples and Key West and provide on-demand service in the region. “We're the only ones in Southwest Florida,” he says.