Can you zip across from Chennai to Kolkata on a Rs 600 ticket in just three hours? Yes, believes a startup backed by IIT-Madras' incubation cell.
The headline-grabbing claim was made at Aero India 2025 by a co-founder of Waterfly Technologies to the financial news portal moneycontrol.
The company is betting on electric seagliders that are Wing-in-Ground (WIG) crafts to achieve this and will use a design that allows them to take off from water and fly at a height of around four meters, the company claimed.
"Travelling from Kolkata to Chennai in a WIG craft will cost just Rs 600 per seat for a 1,600 km journey, far cheaper than an AC three-tier train ticket, which costs over Rs 1,500," Harish Rajesh, the co-founder, was quoted as saying.
The jaw-dropping ticket price is sure to have tickled everybody's curiosity.
Another co-founder Keshav Choudhary explained how the company planned to make this come true to The New Indian Express.
"We fly very close to water surface and take advantage of a physical phenomena called ground effect. This reduces the induced drag, as the wing tip vertices (of the glider) get obstructed by the surface. Additionally, flying so close to the surface, we effectively create an air cushion, as the air is pushed between the craft and the water surface. This air cushion increases lift, allowing us to travel at lower speeds and still carry the payload (passengers). In combination, these two factors increase lift/drag ratio and give our design an around 10x better fuel efficiency than an aircraft," he said.
To understand the math better, a Chennai to Kolkata flight in an Airbus A320 or Boeing 737 reportedly consumes about 2.5 to 3 tonnes of Aviation Turbine Fuel. The price of Aviation Turbine Fuel ranges from Rs 95000-odd per kilolitre in some cities to Rs 98000-odd for a kilolitre in others.
Choudhary added that "the efficiency of our craft is also improved due to our blended wing design. This kind of a flat design is challenging for a conventional aircraft, as it's difficult to maintain the pressure chamber in a flatter body."
He also explained why the seagliders will be way cheaper to build than the regular aeroplanes. "Given that we don't fly at high altitudes, we don't have to endure low-pressure atmosphere. So, we don't have to endure the high mechanical stress that normal airplanes have to endure to maintain the pressure chamber. This reduces manufacturing cost."
"Additionally, a normal aircraft engine has to handle two critical cases which we don't have to handle," Choudhary said.
"One, during takeoff, if one engine fails, they still have to continue takeoff with one engine. Otherwise, they'll crash as the runway will end. We have infinite runway (the whole length and breadth of the sea), hence we don't face this scenario.
"Secondly, airplanes have to climb to a high altitude after takeoff. During this period, the engines have to overcome drag as well as gravity. We won't be climbing to high altitudes, hence our motors never have to work against gravity. A combination of these two factors reduces the required engine size, thus reducing the overall cost," he added.
The plan is still in the early stages. At Aero India, only the design was showcased.
The company plans to develop a 100 kg prototype by April 2025, followed by a one-tonne prototype later in the year.
A full-scale version with a 20-seater capacity can be expected by next year, Waterfly says. This is the model that could finally allow people to travel from Chennai to Kolkata.
The company has currently received grants from IIT Madras and is exploring defence funding to support the building of its full-scale prototype and for using its crafts to ship cargo and for aiding surveillance in the future.
Waterfly is aiming big and wants to target routes like Chennai-Singapore, with plans for intercontinental travel by 2029, including a Dubai-Los Angeles route.
The dreams are indeed grand for the team that previously built the first electric race car at IIT Madras. Their success, however, could well hinge on how close they get to pulling off their incredible promise of a Chennai-Kolkata trip at Rs 600 in three hours.