Boston-Maine Airways
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Airline |
| Founded | March 1999 |
| Defunct | March 29, 2008 |
| Fate | Ceased operations; air carrier certificate revoked by U.S. Department of Transportation |
| Headquarters | Portsmouth, New Hampshire , United States |
Area served | United States, Caribbean |
| Products | Scheduled commuter and jet airline services |
| Owner | Pan Am Systems (formerly Guilford Transportation Industries) |
| Parent | Pan Am Systems |
Boston-Maine Airways was a U.S.-based airline with its headquarters located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It provided scheduled commuter services using turboprop aircraft and operated Boeing 727-200 jet flights under the Pan Am Clipper Connection brand. The airline’s primary hub was Pease International Airport. Boston-Maine Airways discontinued all Pan Am-branded flights on February 29, 2008.
History
Founded in March 1999, Boston-Maine Airways began operations in May 2000 as a feeder airline for the third version of Pan American Airways. Additionally, it operated leased BAe Jetstream 31 planes on behalf of Caesar's casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The airline was a wholly owned subsidiary of Pan Am Systems (previously known as Guilford Transportation Industries), which held the rights to the Pan Am name.
Boston-Maine ran six daily round-trip flights between Trenton–Mercer Airport and Hanscom Field, along with one daily round-trip connecting Trenton–Mercer to Pease International Airport. Following Guilford’s cessation of Pan Am operations on November 1, 2004, Boston-Maine assumed control and reinstated Boeing 727 jet services under the Pan Am Clipper Connection brand starting February 17, 2005.
In August 2005, plans for expanding the fleet and routes were halted due to a federal investigation into fraudulent financial reporting. The pilots' union also petitioned the Department of Transportation to deny certification for growth, citing operational safety concerns. Consequently, the airline suspended its services from September through November 2005 amid escalating fuel prices and declining passenger demand. By October, Boeing 727 flights were indefinitely suspended at several airports including Portsmouth.
On March 21, 2006, Pan Am Clipper Connection introduced scheduled non-charter flights between Tunica Municipal Airport in Mississippi and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport three times weekly. This service targeted casino-driven traffic and aimed to position Tunica as a secondary airport alternative to Memphis International. However, this route was discontinued by October 2006.
On August 1, 2006, Boston-Maine unveiled new service to Elmira-Corning Regional Airport in New York, intending to serve markets such as Rochester, Ithaca, Binghamton, and Williamsport. The airline operated twice-daily flights to Bedford, Trenton, and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Although there were initial plans for additional Boeing 727 routes to Orlando and Tampa, these proposals were abandoned by late 2007.
Beginning March 8, 2007, Pan Am Clipper Connection offered nonstop turboprop service from New Haven, Connecticut to Baltimore-Washington International, Bedford, and Portsmouth using British Aerospace Jetstream 31 aircraft. This service concluded in August 2007.
End of service
On February 1, 2008, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a Show Cause Order seeking to revoke Boston-Maine’s air carrier certificate based on three grounds: inadequate financial stability, poor management oversight, and failure to adhere to federal laws and regulations.
The Air Line Pilots Association initiated the revocation process. The DOT cited repeated misconduct by Boston-Maine executives including submitting falsified financial information in applications for authority to operate large aircraft—a critical factor influencing the DOT's decision since the authorization would not have been granted if accurate data had been provided.
Boston-Maine’s argument that these actions were taken independently by its former General Counsel and Vice President without corporate knowledge was dismissed by the DOT.
Scheduled passenger service using Jetstream aircraft ended on February 28, 2008; the final Boeing 727 flight took place on March 29, 2008.
By July 2008, Boston-Maine had transferred eight aircraft to Concord Municipal Airport in New Hampshire with plans to sell them. Six Jetstream 31 planes were parked awaiting sale while one Jetstream and a Cessna Citation I remained stored in the corporate hangar operated by Concord Aviation Services.
Destinations
During its tenure as Boston-Maine Airways and later Pan Am Clipper Connection, the airline operated flights to various markets across the United States and the Caribbean:
United States
- Connecticut: Hartford (Bradley International), New Haven (Tweed New Haven)
- Florida: Fort Lauderdale, Orlando (Sanford), St. Petersburg/Clearwater
- Georgia: Atlanta (Hartsfield-Jackson)
- Illinois: MidAmerica St. Louis Airport
- Indiana: Gary/Chicago International
- Maine: Bangor International
- Maryland: Baltimore-Washington International, Cumberland Regional, Hagerstown Regional
- Massachusetts: Bedford (Hanscom Field) Hub, Worcester Regional
- Mississippi: Tunica Airport
- New Hampshire: Portsmouth (Pease International)
- New Jersey: Trenton–Mercer Airport
- New York: Elmira-Corning Regional, Ithaca Tompkins International, Stewart International
- Ohio: Columbus (Rickenbacker International)
- Pennsylvania: Allentown (Lehigh Valley International)
Puerto Rico
- Aguadilla (Rafael Hernández International)
- San Juan (Luis Muñoz Marín International)
Dominican Republic
- Punta Cana International
- Las Americas International
This route structure aligned with Boston-Maine’s strategic focus on regional markets by combining domestic locations with Caribbean destinations to serve specialized travel segments.
Fleet
As of June 2007, Boston-Maine Airways maintained the following aircraft within its fleet:
| Aircraft | Number in service |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| BAe Jetstream 31 | 6 | Currently stored at Concord Municipal Airport awaiting sale |
| Boeing 727-200 | 3 | Held in inactive storage |
| Total | 9 |
In addition, the airline formerly operated two CASA C-212-200 Aviocar turboprop commuter aircraft.