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| Founded | March 1999; 26 years ago (1999-03) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | May 2000; 24 years ago (2000-05) | ||||||
| Ceased operations | February 29, 2008; 17 years ago (2008-02-29) | ||||||
| Hubs | Hanscom Field | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | The Clipper Club | ||||||
| Fleet size | 9 | ||||||
| Destinations | 24 | ||||||
| Parent company | Pan Am Systems | ||||||
| Headquarters | Portsmouth, New Hampshire, U.S. | ||||||
| Key people | David Fink (President) | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
Boston-Maine Airways was an Americanairline headquartered inPortsmouth, New Hampshire,United States.[1] It operated scheduled commuter turboprop services as well asBoeing 727-200 jet flights under thePan Am Clipper Connection name. Its main base wasPease International Airport.[2] Boston-Maine Airways ceasedall Pan Am flights on February 29, 2008.[3]
Boston-Maine Airways was established in March 1999 and started operations in May 2000. It was founded as a feeder for thethird incarnation of Pan American Airways and also flew leasedBAe Jetstream 31 aircraft for Caesar's ofAtlantic City, New Jersey. It was wholly owned byPan Am Systems (formerly known asGuilford Transportation Industries), which owns the Pan Am brand.
Boston-Maine Airways operated six round-trips daily betweenTrenton–Mercer Airport inEwing, New Jersey, andHanscom Field inBedford, Massachusetts. Boston-Maine Airways also operated one round-trip daily between Trenton–Mercer Airport andPease International Airport inPortsmouth, New Hampshire.
Guilford ceased the operations ofPan Am on November 1, 2004. Boston-Maine Airways then took over its operations, which resumed theBoeing 727 jet service under thePan Am Clipper Connection brand on February 17, 2005.
In August 2005, a federal investigation into fraudulent financial data submitted by Boston-Maine Airways halted plans to expand its fleet and route system. At the same time, the airline pilots' union claimed that the airline was unfit to operate and urged theDepartment of Transportation to deny the airline's certification for expansion.[4] The airline later announced that it was suspending service from September 6 to November 16, citing rising fuel costs and decreased levels of booking.[5] In the middle of October 2005, the airline suspended Boeing 727 flights indefinitely from several airports that it served, including its home base in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.[6]
However, by March 21, 2006, Pan Am Clipper Connection became the first announced non-charter service to connect to the then-growingTunica Municipal Airport inTunica,Mississippi. The addition not only connected the carrier to a burgeoning casino destination but also aided efforts to bolster Tunica Municipal as a secondary airport toMemphis International Airport in nearbyMemphis, Tennessee. Boston-Maine Airways'Pan Am Clipper Connection flew from Tunica Municipal Airport toHartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport three times per week; the service to Tunica had ended by October of the same year.
On August 1, 2006, Boston-Maine Airways announced that it would begin thePan Am Clipper Connection service toElmira-Corning Regional Airport inElmira, New York. Company executives believed that Elmira was a perfect fit for the company, with its close proximity toRochester,Ithaca,Binghamton, andWilliamsport. The airline flew twice-daily routes toBedford, Massachusetts,Trenton, New Jersey, andBaltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Proposed future plans included possible flights toOrlando andTampa, Florida, using theBoeing 727. However, by the fall of 2007, service to Elmira closed.
Pan Am Clipper Connection began non-stop service to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Bedford, Massachusetts, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire from New Haven, Connecticut, on March 8, 2007, using 19 seatBritish Aerospace Jetstream 31 commuter turboprops. Service was later discontinued in August 2007.
On February 1, 2008, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a Show Cause Order (Order 2008-2-3, DOT Docket Number DOT-OST-2000-7668), concluding that Boston-Maine's air carrier certificate should be revoked for three reasons: 1) lack of financial fitness, 2) lack of proper management oversight and 3) lack of "compliance disposition," or willingness to follow federal laws, rules and regulations.
The motion to revoke Boston-Maine's DOT air carrier certificate was brought by the Air Line Pilots Association. The DOT specifically cited the numerous instances where the airline's officials had failed to follow federal laws and regulations and had filed false financial data with the department in its application for authority to fly large aircraft. The DOT concluded that it would have never granted the large aircraft authority had it known of the false information filed by Boston-Maine.
The DOT also rejected the carrier's arguments that it was not responsible for the company's former General Counsel and Vice President's filing of such false information (Boston-Maine had asserted that this individual had acted alone, without the company's knowledge or involvement).[7]
On February 28, 2008, Boston-Maine Airways ended its Jetstream-operated scheduled passenger service. March 29, 2008 was their last 727 flight.[3]
Beginning in July 2008, the company moved eight of its aircraft toConcord Municipal Airport in New Hampshire, with the intent to keep them there until buyers took the planes. Parked on the ramp were six Jetstream 31s to be sold, but one Jetstream and aCessna Citation I were placed in the corporate hangar operated by Concord Aviation Services.[citation needed]
Boston-Maine Airways and the Pan Am Clipper Connection served the following destinations at various times during its existence:[8][9][10][11][12]
Connecticut
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Mississippi
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Ohio
PennsylvaniaThe Boston-Maine Airways fleet consisted of the following aircraft (as of June 2007):[2]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| BAe Jetstream 31 | 6 | — | On the ramp atConcord Municipal Airport to be sold[citation needed] |
| Boeing 727-200 | 3 | — | In "cold storage" |
| Total | 9 | — |
Boston-Maine Airways also formerly operated 2CASA C-212-200 Aviocar commuter turboprops.
