ELLSWORTH, Maine — Three aviation firms have submitted bids to federal transportation officials to provide service to Bar Harbor and Presque Isle, while a fourth has submitted a bid to add service only to Bar Harbor.
In a prepared statement released Sunday afternoon, Sen. Susan Collins indicated that Peninsula Airways, Sovereign Air and Air Choice One all have submitted bids to the U.S. Department of Transportation to provide essential air services to the two airports. Such services, which are subsidized by the federal government, currently are provided by Colgan Air, which last September petitioned the agency to end its flights to the two airports.
Under federal Essential Air Service regulations, Colgan is not allowed to leave until a replacement is found. But there has been concern that smaller airplanes might be brought in to provide that service.
Peninsula Airways, also known as Pen Air, is based in Anchorage, Alaska. Air Choice One is based in St. Louis, Mo. It was unclear Sunday afternoon where Sovereign Air is based.
A fourth carrier, Cape Air, has submitted a bid to provide service to Bar Harbor, but not to Presque Isle, according to Collins. Cape Air, based in Hyannis, Mass., currently is the EAS provider at airports in Augusta and Rockland.
Collins said in the statement that she has told Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that is is particularly important for the new EAS provider to use aircraft large enough to fly directly from Presque Isle to airports outside of Maine.
Larger planes that can hold 15 people or more can fly directly between Boston and Aroostook County, for example, which makes the trip faster than it would be if the planes had to stop in Bangor or Portland along the way. Presque Isle is about a three-hour drive from Bangor International Airport while the Bar Harbor-Hancock County Airport, which is located in Trenton, is about an hour’s drive away from BIA.
“I have [told LaHood] how important it is to maintain safe, reliable, daily air service to Presque Isle and Bar Harbor,” Collins said in the statement. “As an Aroostook [County] native, I know how important this service is to County residents and to the economic well-being of our business community and the preservation of good jobs.”
Attempts Sunday afternoon to track down officials at the airports in Bar Harbor and Presque Isle, and officials with companies that submitted the bids, were unsuccessful.
Sen. Olympia Snowe and U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud also have taken an interest in finding a new carrier for the Bar Harbor and Presque Isle airports and have met with PenAir officials to discuss the possibility.
“It is absolutely vital Maine’s rural communities like those surrounding Presque Isle are connected with an air service that is safe, cost-effective and convenient,” Snowe said in a statement released Friday.
In its petition to USDOT, Colgan Air indicated it expects to end its service in 2012. Colgan Air expressed a desire to close its Boston office because the market that it serves has become smaller.
Under federal Essential Air Service regulations, the airline would not be allowed to leave until a replacement is found. But there has been concern that smaller airplanes might be brought in to provide that service.
In Presque Isle and Bar Harbor, Colgan Air offers business and leisure air travelers nonstop service to and from Boston’s Logan Airport in a 34-seat Saab 340 turbo jet prop.
Established in 1978, the Essential Air Service program provides federal assistance to air carriers serving smaller communities that otherwise might lose service because of economic factors.
BDN reporter Jen Lynds contributed to this story.
Follow BDN reporter Bill Trotter on Twitter at @billtrotter.
“It was unclear Sunday afternoon where Sovereign Air is based.”
Sovereign Air is based out of Orlando – currently an air taxi and charter operation.
Too much work for BDN to google that.
I did more than just Google that. I called the number on the Orlando-based Sovereign Air web page and left a message. The operator called me back to say he has one small plane and has not put in a bid to provide EAS service anywhere in Maine. There is more than one Sovereign Air out there, and it is definitely not the Orlando-based Sovereign Air that is interested in flying in to Bar Harbor and Presque Isle.
Nice work Bill. Some folks jump to conclusions, especially on these forums.
http://sovereignairinc.com/about-sai/
Sorry about the previous comment. The reason Sovereign is so hard to find – they do not operate an airline as of yet. They do continue to apply for EAS service, but are not Part 121 certified as of yet.
Why should we subsidize the residents of Hancock County to fly in and out of Bar Harbor to the tune of $1.5 million per year because they are too lazy to drive to Bangor? If that is acceptable, why not subsidize the airport in Greenville, ME as well, after all it is a two hour drive from there to Bangor vice 45-50 minutes from Bar Harbor/Hancock County Airport (BHB) in Trenton?
As for Presque Isle why should I again support that airport with my tax dollars to the tune of $1.5 million a year when 30-40% of passengers flying out of PQI are Canadians. In effect EAS at PQI is using the US taxpayer to fund Canadian tourist flying to Florida.
EAS needs to end now at all Maine airports. If you cannot drive from Augusta and Rockland to Portland, or from Bar Harbor to Bangor and then on top of that need taxpayers to cough half the value of your ticket; then you are way too lazy to travel in the first place.
Flights to Bar Harbor are critical for the tourism and will never be shut down.
And BTW: Bar Harbor flight goes to Boston not Portland.
Your frustration is understood, but perhaps a bit misunderstood. Presque Isle is exactly the type of airport that EAS was designed for. In addition, it has the necessary infrastructure and improvements necessary to qualify for air service (Greenville, on the other hand, doesn’t and would cost millions to upgrade). As a former economic development guy I can go on and on about the importance of having a “local” airport.
The majority of passengers in Maine fly to and from Portland, which is Maine’s only major airport and the place where airlines have chosen to make a substantial commitment. It’s an easy 2 hour drive from the Bangor area nad where the majority of Bangor people go for air service. Niche operations at Rockland, Augusta and Trenton have lots to offer the Bangor area, even at a small scale. Bangor is also a relatively small operation, compared to 6 or 7 years ago, and struggles to maintian passengers–Portland offers an easy drive, great prices and lots of redundancy.
Recent flight additions at Bangotr, while welcome, serve airports notorious for major delays–the joke around town is that the “extra” Philadelphia flight that starts in the spring is to make up for the others that cancel each day as Philadelphia only has one runway and clogs up at the drop of a pin, especially in the summer.
My daughter was booked on it several times last year and it cancelled every time and she drove to Portland. Now she doesn’t bother with Bangor but flies to Boston from Augusta (a service Bangor doesn’t have) or goes to Portland in the first place so she can get where she’s going in a timely, cost-effective manner. It is very, very hard to beat what the Jetport has to offer for a two hour drive from Bangor and the presence of Bangor area car dealership stickers on tons of cars in the giant parking garage in Portland certainly attests to that fact.
I concur that PQI is good candidate for EAS. However, my problem is with the 30-40% of the passengers that are Canadian. It just does not make sense for US taxpayers to subsidize travel by Canadians. If we could limit EAS to US Citizens at PQI, then I might be able to be convinced to support it there.
Furthermore, ther realities of current air service are that planes follow the market and unless you have market you will not be able to generate passenger traffic to get planes to come to your airport. I suggest that the millions spent on EAS would be better spent directly on economic development. Once plants are here (and especially if they are tied to international commerce) then there will be demand for air service that these local airports can support. Just look at the “south.” Small airports there are expanding without EAS becasue these southern states were able to attract companies such as Boeing, BMW, Toyota with extensive manufacturing facilities. Call Centers, Pulp Mills, and Tourism just don’t cut it anymore in attracting airlines.
PQI is a textbook candidate for EAS, regardless of who flies from it. Discriminating against Canadian passengers is a non-starter because it would undermine the services by reducing passenger loads and likely also the frequency of flights, which would in turn directly the affect the local economy. Besides, if Canadians want to come spend Canadian dollars in the US, why put obstacles in their way? I would readily agree that subsiding Bar Harbor or Rockland passengers is nonsensical since they are sufficiently close to Bangor and Portland and the EAS subsidies therefore direcly undermine services at those two airports.
Well said. I agree with both of your statements. Airlines, especially, don’ fly for free. No market, no service.
This user seems a bit confused. It is not only just Canadians that fly out of PResque Isle, but more often than not Aroostook County Citizens. I know a few people from Northern Penobscot who use PQI also. I was at the Presque Isle airport about a week ago to rent a car from the AVIS outlet. That airport was a booming place. Several people had checked in to fly out, and several came in to check in while we were there. With the distance to Bangor being 3 hours or more, the cost including gas and parking fees plus the actual cost of your plane tickets, its no deal to fly out of Bangor and Cheaper, more economical, and more convenient too to fly right out of Presque Isle. Being at the airport that day just from what I witnessed definately showed need, and use of the Presque Isle Airport.
Subsidizies: If you really want to talk about paying out our tax dollars, look at the railroads, wheat & corn farmers, and the oil companies. A few dollars to small air carriers is peanuts compared to farmers out west and railroads. Oh! just so you know. Ted Turner,the billionaire, is a big farmer getting subsidizies. Go on line and check out the Wind power projects in Maine. The power produced is not going to make a profit. It’s the subsidizes that First Wind gets that makes them put up the towers. The profit is in the subsidizes received, not the wind power…………..
I was just wondering, if these airlines are subsidized why does it cost so much to fly from PI to Boston?
smaller planes cost more per passenger to operate.
My son and law is a pilot and he points out tha Cape Air at Augusta and Rockland provide frequent, relatively inexpensive daily flights to Boston, something the Bangor area would benefit from with the Trenton airport relatively close by. Right now you have to drive to Augusta or Rockland to get flights to Boston and beyond.
The Trenton-Bar Harbor Airport is an excellent facility, recently upgraded with your tax money, and easy to use. Moreover, the Cape Air flights code-share with JetBlue and use the JetBlue terminal at Boston. As a result, Rockland and Augusta currently not only enjoy great service to Boston, but they also enjoy service on a JetBlue partner airline. JetBlue partner servcie at Trenton would be wonderful for both the tourism and business economy, especially with Jackson Labs right nearby.
As long as your tax money is in play with EAS you might as well put it to work and get your share back by using the air service at Rockland, Augusta and Trenton. Even better if you have a JetBlue connection.
Up closer to my part of the world is Presque Isle. One would have a hard time arguing that air service there isn’t esssential for the local economy. My son in law speaks highly of PenAir as they have the right equipment and esperience to do the job.
Its time to end these pork projects, only summer people ride from trenton, and the rich want to keep it open to fly there jets in there in the summer
presque isle would likely take pen air because of the larger plane but i wouldn’t be surprised if bar harbor went with cape air. the lower price of cape air and more flexible schedule might work better for bar harbor. there doesn’t need to be 3 daily flights year round when theirs twice as many people in the summer who fly there. I would also like to see if bangor could work with one of these airlines to get boston service I think there is some demand from business travels and people who might prefer boston as a hub.
PQI is generally a busy airport. Contrary to some of the negative responses many of the passengers are from the business comunity and the air service is an attraction to expansion or new business.Central Aroostook and Western, N.B. do have some substantial industries requiring reliable air service. Canada and Canadians play a major and positive role in the Maine economy , think McCain, Irving, and thousands of shoppers. Maine’s economy would be in the tank without them.
The airline also serves many people with medical appointments in Boston as well as general travelers.