| |||||||
| Founded | 1989; 36 years ago (1989) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AOC # | HYIA145B | ||||||
| Operating bases | |||||||
| Fleet size | 98 | ||||||
| Destinations | 31 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Hyannis,Massachusetts,United States | ||||||
| Key people |
| ||||||
| Revenue | $252.8M (2024)[1] | ||||||
| Employees | 651 (2024)[2] | ||||||
| Website | |||||||

Hyannis Air Service Inc., operating asCape Air, is anairline headquartered atCape Cod Gateway Airport inHyannis, Massachusetts, United States. It operates scheduled passenger services in theNortheast, theCaribbean, andEastern Montana.[3]
The airline operates under the rules of Part 135 Commuter usinglight aircraft.[4][5] It hasinterlining andcodeshare agreements with other major carriers for ticketing and baggage transfers. Flights betweenHyannis andNantucket, Massachusetts, are operated under theNantucket Airlines brand, also operated by Hyannis Air Service, Inc. The company slogan isWe're your wings.[6]

Cape Air was co-founded in 1988 by company pilots Craig Stewart andDan Wolf, and investor Grant Wilson. Initially, Cape Air flew betweenProvincetown andBoston inMassachusetts, a route that had been recently discontinued byProvincetown-Boston Airlines (PBA) afterairline deregulation.[7][8] Throughout the early 1990s new routes were added to destinations acrossCape Cod and southeasternNew England. In 1994, Cape Air and Nantucket Airlines merged and now offer hourly flights betweenNantucket andHyannis.
In 1993, Cape Air began service in Florida with flights operating fromKey West International Airport toNaples Municipal Airport. Florida service expanded in 1996 with flights from Key West to bothFort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport andSouthwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers.[9][10] Cape Air also began a network in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean in 1998, which were mostly based out ofLuis Muñoz Marín International Airport inSan Juan, Puerto Rico.[11]


2004 marked the launch year of FAR Part 121 certification and a new hub of operations in Guam. This included a new fleet type consisting of threeATR 42 Turboprop aircraft. The startup team, led by Pacific Administrator, Captain Russell Price,[citation needed] launched scheduled service in July 2004 with the three ATR aircraft and two of the C402. Service was operated asContinental Connection, the regional brand ofContinental Airlines, and flights flew from Guam to the Northern Mariana Islands of Saipan and Rota. Due to the International Dateline and the midnight connecting service to/from Japan, it was sometimes referred to as "America's First Flight" i.e.: the first departure daily of any airline flight in the United States.[citation needed]
In the 2000s, Cape Air's flights in Florida between Fort Myers and Key West also began operating under theContinental Connection banner, though the Cessnas remained in the Cape Air livery. Cape Air also began flying flights for Continental Connection fromTampa International Airport to both Sarasota and Fort Myers (the latter route had been previously operated by Continental Connection carrierGulfstream International Airlines).[11][12]
In late 2007, the airline began a new round of expansion in the Northeast and Midwest. On 1 November 2007, the airline began service betweenBoston andRutland, Vermont, with three daily round trips. The route is operated under contract with the U.S. governmentEssential Air Service (EAS) program. With the help of an intrastate minimum revenue guarantee, Cape Air expanded into Indiana on 13 November 2007, offering flights fromIndianapolis toEvansville andSouth Bend. Passenger revenue did not grow quickly enough to make the operation economically sustainable once the revenue guarantee ended, so the last Cape Air flight in Indiana was on 31 August 2008.
Cape Air began flights betweenFlorida Keys Marathon Airport and Fort Myers in 2008 but this service was discontinued a year later.[13] By the end of 2009, Florida service was no longer operated as Continental Connection and flights from Fort Myers to Key West were Cape Air's only remaining Florida service. Cape Air ended all intra-Florida flights in 2013.[3]
The airline expanded into upstate New York in early 2008, following the sudden demise ofDelta Connection carrier,Big Sky Airlines. Cape Air began flying three daily round-trips onEssential Air Service routes from Boston to the Adirondack cities ofPlattsburgh andSaranac Lake on February 12, 2008. The airline continued its expansion into New York when they started to fly the EAS routes out ofAlbany toWatertown,Ogdensburg, andMassena, andRutland Airport. Cape Air commenced service fromRockland, Maine, andLebanon, New Hampshire, to Boston on November 1, 2008. The company purchased four additionalCessna 402s to assist with the major growth.
Cape Air was also looking to offer services on the west coast. Cape Air submitted bids to offer service betweenNewport andPortland in the state ofOregon. The airline was hoping to be selected by the Newport city council to receive a financial grant to jump-start the service.[14] Ultimately they lost out toSeaPort Airlines, which was able to start service sooner than Cape Air.[15] However, in September 2013, the DOT selected Cape Air to provide EAS service between Billings and five communities in Eastern Montana, including, Sidney, Glendive, Glasgow, Havre and Wolf Point. Service in Montana started on December 10, 2013. The airline also expanded operations in themid-Atlantic region. Cape Air provided scheduled flights from both theHagerstown Regional Airport and theLancaster Airport to theBaltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI).[16] Service out of Baltimore ended in October 2012.
In May 2013, Cape Air named Linda Markham as the new president and chief administrative officer.
Cape Air carried 750,000 passengers in 2014 and offered up to 550 daily flights, achieving revenues of $120 million.[1]Cape Air is the largest independent regional airline in the United States, with new routes driving steady increases over time.
In 2016, Cape Air started flying from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Bimini, Bahamas.[17]
Cape Air flights in Guam continued operating under theUnited Express branding following the merger of Continental Airlines andUnited Airlines in 2010. On April 16, 2018,United Airlines announced the end of its partnership with Cape Air. Services ended on May 31, 2018, which marked the end ofUnited Express operations inGuam, along with the retirement of the last turboprop aircraft in the United Express fleet.[18]
By 2023, Cape Air was flying betweenChicago’s O’Hare andManistee County Blacker Airport nearManistee, Michigan, and hadcodesharing or interline agreements on the route with other carriers includingAmerican andUnited.[19]
In early 2016 the company had canceled flights citing a shortage of pilots. TheAir Line Pilots Association disputed the existence of a pilot shortage instead citing low wages as the reason for the lack of pilots.[20] Cape Air takes on pilots as co-pilots after 500-750h in entry-level roles like instructing.They are upgraded to captain after 1,500h as first officers and they can join partnersJetBlue orSpirit Airlines after 1,500h again in around two years.Cape Air also recruits pilots over 65, the mandatory retirement age forFAR Part 121 airlines, so long as they maintain a first-class medical.[21]

In 1994 Cape Air merged with Nantucket Airlines. Since then, Nantucket Airlines has operated as a sister airline to Cape Air focusing on flights betweenNantucket Memorial Airport andBarnstable Municipal Airport.[22] Nantucket Airlines utilizes a small sub-fleet of Cessna 402C Businessliners/Utililiners painted in Nantucket Airlines livery.
Cape Air operates three separate, disconnected sets of flights in the Northeast, the Caribbean, and Montana.
| City | Airport | IATA Code | Destinations[23] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augusta | Augusta State Airport | AUG | Boston | |
| Bar Harbor | Hancock County–Bar Harbor Airport | BHB | Boston | |
| Rockland | Knox County Regional Airport | RKD | Boston | |
| Boston | Logan International Airport | BOS | Augusta, Bar Harbor, Hyannis, Islip, Lebanon NH, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Provincetown, Rockland ME, Rutland VT, Saranac Lake | |
| Hyannis | Cape Cod Gateway Airport | HYA | Boston, Martha's Vineyard*, Nantucket* | |
| Martha's Vineyard | Martha's Vineyard Airport | MVY | Boston, Hyannis*, Nantucket*, New Bedford, New York–JFK, White Plains NY | |
| Nantucket | Nantucket Memorial Airport | ACK | Boston, Hyannis*, Martha's Vineyard*, New Bedford | |
| New Bedford | New Bedford Regional Airport | EWB | Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket | |
| Norwood | Norwood Memorial Airport | OWD | Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket | |
| Provincetown | Provincetown Municipal Airport | PVC | Boston | |
| Lebanon | Lebanon Municipal Airport | LEB | Boston | |
| Islip | Long Island MacArthur Airport | ISP | Boston | |
| New York | John F. Kennedy International Airport | JFK | Martha's Vineyard, Saranac Lake | |
| Saranac Lake | Adirondack Regional Airport | SLK | Boston, New York–JFK | |
| White Plains | Westchester County Airport | HPN | Lebanon NH, Martha's Vineyard, Provincetown, Hyannis. | |
| Rutland | Rutland–Southern Vermont Regional Airport | RUT | Boston | |
| City | Airport | IATA Code | Destinations[24] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anguilla | Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport | AXA | St. Thomas | |
| Tortola | Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport | EIS | San Juan, St. Thomas | |
| Virgin Gorda | Virgin Gorda Airport | VIJ | San Juan | |
| Culebra | Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport | CPX | San Juan, Vieques | |
| Mayagüez | Eugenio María de Hostos Airport | MAZ | San Juan | |
| San Juan | Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport | SJU | Culebra, Mayagüez, St. Croix, St. Thomas, Tortola, Vieques, Virgin Gorda | |
| Vieques | Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport | VQS | Culebra, San Juan, St. Croix | |
| Nevis | Vance W. Amory International Airport | NEV | St. Croix, St. Kitts, St. Thomas | |
| St. Kitts | Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport | SKB | Nevis, St. Thomas | |
| St. Croix | Henry E. Rohlsen Airport | STX | Nevis, San Juan, St. Thomas, Vieques | |
| St. Thomas | Cyril E. King Airport | STT | Anguila, Nevis, San Juan, St. Croix, St. Kitts, Tortola, Vieques | |
| City | Airport | IATA Code | Destinations[25] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billings | Logan International Airport | BIL | Glasgow MT, Glendive, Havre, Sidney MT, Wolf Point | |
| Glasgow | Glasgow Valley County Airport | GGW | Billings | |
| Glendive | Dawson Community Airport | GDV | Billings | |
| Havre | Havre City–County Airport | HVR | Billings | |
| Sidney | Sidney–Richland Municipal Airport | SDY | Billings | |
| Wolf Point | L. M. Clayton Airport | OLF | Billings | |

Since February 2007, Cape Air andJetBlue Airways have had aninterline agreement. The agreement allows Cape Air to carryJetBlue Airways passengers from Boston's Logan Airport and San Juan to Cape Air's destinations throughout the Northeast, Florida and the Caribbean. The agreement allows customers on both airlines to purchase seats on both airlines under one reservation.[26] Customers also get their baggage transferred and Cape Air and JetBlue Airways are located in the same terminal in Boston and San Juan which allows for an easy connection.
Cape Air andAmerican Airlines (AA) announced acode-sharing agreement for the Caribbean in February 2013. The cities served by the AA codeshare are Anguilla, Nevis, Tortola, Vieques and Mayaguez. In the Midwest, Cape Air and American have had a code sharing agreement since 2010, which allows passengers fromMarion, IL,Owensboro, KY, andKirksville, MO, to connect inSt. Louis, MO. This ended on July 31, 2023, and those airports now have service toChicago, IL viaContour Airlines.[27]
Cape Air has been a longtime partner withUnited Airlines (UA) and offers acode sharing agreement for many destinations. Passengers traveling through the Caribbean on select codeshare flights can enjoy special through-fares, advanced boarding passes and the ability to earn miles on a Cape Air flight.[28]
Cape Air partners with the following airlines to provide interline flow-through ticketing and baggage transfers:[29]
The airline operates Cape AirBoston Harbor Seaplane Base nearLogan International Airport, (IATA:BNH,FAALID:MA87).[31]
As of July 2024[update], Cape Air's fleet consists of the following aircraft:[32][4][33]
| Type | Fleet | Orders | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Britten-Norman Islander[34] | 4 | – | 9 | Operates in the Caribbean. |
| Cessna 402 | 64 | – | 9 | To be retired and replaced by Tecnam P2012 Traveller. 9th seat is the unused co-pilot chair. |
| Eviation Alice | – | 75[35] | 9 | To be the first use of an electric aircraft for passengers. Replacing the Cessna 402. |
| Tecnam P2012 Traveller | 30 | 70[36] | 9 | Replacing the Cessna 402. |
| Total | 98 | 145 | ||
In November 2010, Cape Air announced that it was considering new aircraft types to replace the Cessna 402.[37] In April 2011, Italian aircraft producerTecnam announced it will be producing theTecnam P2012 Traveller.[38] The aircraft made its first flight in July 2016.[39] The first aircraft was delivered to Cape Air in March 2019.[21] Cape Air formerly utilized theATR 42 for United Express operations in Guam. However, when United retired its propeller fleet, the partnership ended between the two airlines. At the 2019Paris Air Show, Eviation Aircraft announced that Cape Air would add the electricEviation Alice aircraft to their fleet.[40]

{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)41°40′10.23″N70°17′31.37″W / 41.6695083°N 70.2920472°W /41.6695083; -70.2920472