Ten years ago, Anthony Piland Jr. was an aspiring pilot doing a student job shadow at the Martha’s Vineyard Airport. This summer, he is flying into that same airport as a Republic Airways captain.
Six regularly scheduled ferry runs have been cut effective Sunday, as traffic to the Island begins to decline. Other transit agencies are taking steps to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Cape Air has discontinued off-season flights between Hyannis and the Island due to low demand, the Hyannis-based airline announced Monday.
The change is effective Oct. 22.
“The passenger numbers just aren’t there to sustain a business,” said Michelle Haynes, spokesperson for Cape Air. “For us to continue offering the service that the passengers were just simply not signing up to fly . . . didn’t make good business sense.
In a standoff with the state ethics commission, state senator and gubernatorial candidate Dan Wolf is publicly disputing a commission opinion that his role as owner of Cape Air is a conflict of interest. The ethics commission is standing behind its opinion and strongly refuted a statement posted by Senator Wolf online this week.
Mr. Wolf, a Democrat, represents the Cape and Islands in the state senate. He founded Cape Air 25 years ago and now has a 23 per cent stake in the company.
Airlines providing regional service between the Vineyard and Logan International Airport could receive relief from proposed hikes in landing and takeoff fees under a plan submitted by the Massachusetts Port Authority to federal regulators earlier this month.
The exemption program is one element of Massport's peak pricing proposal, which would raise landing fees at the Boston airport during peak hours to $150 per landing and departure.
A proposed hike in landing fees at Logan International Airport in
Boston could end up putting the Vineyard's main airline carrier,
CapeAir, out of business, its chief executive said.
After some three years of courtship, Cape Air and JetBlue Airways
chose Valentine's Day to announce a marriage of customer
convenience for passengers to and from Logan International Airport.
Beginning next month, passengers arriving from or departing to 20
destinations across America with JetBlue will be able to connect far
more easily with Cape Air flights to the Cape and Islands.
