Boston-Maine Airways

Infobox_Airline
airline=Boston-Maine Airways
logo=
logo_size=
fleet_size=9
destinations=3
IATA=E9
ICAO=CXS
callsign=CLIPPER CONNECTION
founded= 1999
ceased=2008
headquarters=Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA
key_people=David Fink, President
hubs=Bedford, Massachusetts (Hanscom Field)
focus_cities=
frequent_flyer=The Clipper Club
lounge=
alliance=
website= http://www.flypanam.com/
stock symbol=

Boston-Maine Airways (BMA) was an American airline based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA. It operated scheduled commuter services under the "Pan Am Clipper Connection" banner. Its main base was Pease International Airport, Portsmouth.cite news | title= Directory: World Airlines | work= Flight International | page= 88 | date= 2007-03-27] Boston-Maine Airways ceasedall Pan Am flights on February 29, 2008. [ [http://blogs.usatoday.com/sky/pan_am_bostonmaine_airways/index.html Pan Am stops flying] . "USA Today". 2008-03-03.]

History

Boston-Maine Airways was established in March 1999 and started operations in May 2000. It was founded as a feeder for Pan American Airways and also flew leased BAe Jetstream 31 aircraft for Caesar's of Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is wholly owned by Pan Am Systems (formerly known as Guilford Transportation Industries), which owns the Pan Am brand.

Under the name Pan Am Clipper Connection, Boston-Maine Airways operated six round-trips daily between Trenton-Mercer Airport in Ewing, New Jersey, and Hanscom Field in Bedford, Massachusetts. Boston-Maine Airways also operated one round-trip daily between Trenton-Mercer Airport and Pease International Airport in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Guilford ceased operating Pan Am III on November 1, 2004, but operations were transferred to Boston-Maine Airways, which resumed Boeing 727 service under the Pan 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 the Department of Transportation to deny the airline's certification for expansion. [McCord, Michael (August 5, 2005). [http://www.seacoastonline.com/2005news/08052005/business/56306.htm DOT begins probe of Pease airline] . "The Portsmouth Herald".] The airline later announced that it was suspending service from September 6 to November 16, citing rising fuel costs and decreased levels of booking. [Huettel, Steve (August 13, 2005). [http://www.sptimes.com/2005/08/13/Business/Pan_Am_cancels_flight.shtml Pan Am cancels flights for 2 months] . "St. Petersburg Times".] 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. [McCord, Michael (October 14, 2005). [http://www.seacoastonline.com/2005news/10142005/business/67938.htm No more Pan Am flights at Pease] . "The Portsmouth Herald".]

However, by March 21, 2006, Pan Am Clipper Connection became the first announced non-charter service to connect to the growing Tunica Municipal Airport in Tunica, 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 to Memphis International Airport in nearby Memphis, Tennessee. Boston-Maine Airways' Pan Am Clipper Connection flew from Tunica Municipal Airport to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport three times per week; the service to Tunica had ended by October the same year.

On August 1, 2006, Boston-Maine Airways announced that it would begin Pan Am Clipper Connection service to Elmira-Corning Regional Airport in Elmira, New York. Company executives believed that Elmira was a perfect fit for the company, with its close proximity to Rochester, Ithaca, Binghamton, and Williamsport. The airline flew twice-daily routes to Bedford, Massachusetts, Trenton, New Jersey, and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Proposed future plans included possible flights to Orlando and Tampa, Florida, using Boeing 727 aircraft. However, by fall of 2007, service to Elmira ceased.

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 seat Jetstream 31 aircraft. Service was later discontinued in August 2007.

End of service

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. 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). [cite news | last = Haberman | first = Shir | title = U.S. DOT ready to pull Boston-Maine’s license to fly | publisher = Seacoastonline.com | date = 2008-02-04 | url = http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080204/NEWS/80204016/-1/PUBLICRECORDS05 | accessdate = 2008-02-05]

On February 28, 2008, Boston Maine Airways ended their Jetstream scheduled passenger service. March 29, 2008 was the last B-727 flight. [ [http://blogs.usatoday.com/sky/pan_am_bostonmaine_airways/index.html Pan Am stops flying] . "USA Today". 2008-03-03.]

Beginning in July 2008, the company moved 8 of its planes to Concord Municipal Airport, NH, with the intent to keep them there until buyers took the planes. Parked on the ramp were 6 Jetstream 31s to be sold, but one Jetstream and a Citation 500 (the 9th ever made) were placed in the corporate hangar operated by Concord Aviation Services. As of August 30, 2008, 6 planes remain on the ramp, with the aforementioned two in the hangar.Fact|date=August 2008

Destinations

Boston-Maine Airways operated the following services (as of November 2007) [ [http://flypanam.com/dest.html Pan Am destinations] ] :
*United States
**Massachusetts
***Bedford (Hanscom Field)
**New Hampshire
***Portsmouth (Pease International Airport)
**New Jersey
***Trenton (Trenton-Mercer Airport)

Fleet

The Boston-Maine Airways fleet consisted of the following aircraft (as of June 2007):

References

External links

* [http://blogs.usatoday.com/sky/pan_am_bostonmaine_airways/index.html "Pan Am Stops Flying" article from USA Today blog]
* [http://www.panamservices.com Pan Am Services]