????亞洲的豪賭客們很快就有望以一種時尚的新方式抵達澳門，這種拉風的方式就是乘坐水上飛機。

????曾幾何時，水上飛機就像中國帆船一樣，是維多利亞港海景的組成部分，但那種景象在過去50年已經(jīng)銷聲匿跡。如今想從香港去澳門基本上有兩種選擇：一是高速渡輪，這種方式大約需要花一個小時，單程經(jīng)濟艙的票價不到20美元；二是直升飛機，這種方式能讓你省下時間，但也會嚇壞一些人。老實說，原因不僅僅是因為它的花費高出渡輪25倍還多。

????“我在這里看到了一個真正巨大的商機，”來自澳大利亞的企業(yè)家彼得?德坎特佐說。58歲的他是一名會計師兼休閑飛行員，他的前一個重要身份是卡爾文克萊恩（Calvin Klein Jeanswear）香港辦事處的負責人。

????德坎特佐左右手腕各戴著一只金表，分別是勞力士（Rolex）和摩凡陀（Movado），它們是德坎特佐的父親傳給他的遺物。他的父親就是傳奇飛行員西德尼?徳坎特佐，曾在二戰(zhàn)期間駕駛貨運飛機在橫跨喜馬拉雅山脈的駝峰航線飛行，并曾駕駛轟炸機從加拿大趕赴英國。戰(zhàn)爭結束之后，西德尼與人聯(lián)合創(chuàng)立了國泰航空公司（Cathay Pacific）。據(jù)說，蔣介石夫人宋美齡除了西德尼之外不信任其他任何飛行員。當年，彼得只有3歲的時候，西德尼撒手人寰——具有諷刺意味的是，他死于一場車禍——但父親留下來的遺產(chǎn)（西德尼也曾在維多利亞港駕駛水上飛機）很好地呈現(xiàn)在了兒子的新公司當中，即海翔航空（Waterfront Air）。

????當初，徳坎特佐進行市場調(diào)查時看到：1.大量的需求，在中國東南沿海地區(qū)，每年經(jīng)由渡輪、直升飛機、大巴、汽車以及火車運送的跨境客運人數(shù)將近2億人；2.一個他能借助一種新的旅行選擇填補一個利基市場，它在速度、刺激程度以及景觀方面與直升機一般無二，但價格卻要更加便宜，而且顯得更加浪漫。海翔航空將利用租來的DHC-6雙水獺飛機組成的機隊來運營這項業(yè)務——DHC-6雙水獺飛機能夠搭載16名乘客，是標志性的短距起降（STOL）兩棲飛機，出產(chǎn)地是加拿大。

????徳坎特佐希望，這項業(yè)務最早明年就能在中國深圳寶安國際機場（Shenzhen International Airport）的一處廣闊海運碼頭對外開放。他之所以選擇那里、而不是鄰近的香港，是因為深圳當局比香港當局更愿意迅速行動，原因在于深圳振興旅游和服務行業(yè)的愿望，因為該地的制造業(yè)增長已經(jīng)開始放緩。

????Asian high-rollers may soon have a stylish new way to make a splash on arrival in Macau: in a seaplane.

????Seaplanes were once as much a part of the Victoria Harbor seascape as Chinese junks, but not for the last 50 years. These days if you want to get to Macau from Hong Kong, you've got basically two options: high-speed ferry, which takes about an hour and costs less than $20 one-way in economy class; or helicopter, which will save you time but scares some people, frankly, and not just because it costs 25 times more than the boat does.

????"I just see a really great opportunity here," says Australian entrepreneur Peter de Kantzow, a 58-year-old accountant and recreational aviator whose last big gig was running the Hong Kong office of Calvin Klein Jeanswear.

????De Kantzow wears two gold watches, a Rolex and a Movado, one on each wrist -- relics passed down to him by his father, legendary aviator Sydney de Kantzow, who flew cargo across the Hump in the Himalayas and delivered bombers from Canada to England during World War II, and afterward co-founded Cathay Pacific; Madame Chiang Kai-Shek, it was said, trusted no other pilot but him. Sydney died when Peter was just three years old -- in a car wreck, ironically -- but the legacy of the father (who also flew seaplanes in Victoria Harbor) is very much present in the son's new venture, Waterfront Air.

????When de Kantzow surveys the market, he sees, 1) Plenty of demand: nearly 200 million cross-border passenger movements every year, by boat, helicopter, bus, car and train, from points up and down China's eastern seaboard; and 2) A niche he can fill with a travel option that matches the helicopter for speed, thrills, and great views, undercuts it on price, and beats it hands down on romance. Waterfront will operate with a leased fleet of DHC-6 Twin Otters -- iconic, 16-passenger, STOL (short takeoff and landing) amphibious planes, manufactured in Canada.

????De Kantzow hopes to launch as early as next year from a spacious marine terminal in China's Shenzhen International Airport. He's starting there instead of nearby Hong Kong because local authorities were willing to move more quickly than their counterparts in Hong Kong -- a function of Shenzhen's desire to boost its tourism and service sectors as growth in manufacturing has slowed.