Bar Harbor Airlines was a comparatively large
commuter airlineRegional airlines are airlines that operate regional aircraft to provide passenger air service to communities without sufficient demand to attract mainline service...
headquartered at Bar Harbor Airport in
Trenton, MaineTrenton is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States, near Acadia National Park. The population was 1,370 at the 2000 census. Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport is located in Trenton....
and later in Houston,
TexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
Early history
The company was founded by brothers Thomas and Joseph Caruso, as Bar Harbor Airways. They began flying charters and scenic flights from the Bar Harbor town dock. By 1950, they had established a base of operations at the
Hancock County-Bar Harbor AirportHancock County-Bar Harbor Airport is a public airport located in Trenton, Maine, United States, eight miles northwest of the central business district of Bar Harbor...
.
Bar Harbor Airlines started flying in 1971, using the Hancock County Airport as its hub. The airline's first route was to
BostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
.
The route proved so popular, especially among those from Maine who had daily jobs in Boston, that by 1972, the airline expanded its route system by 350 percent, including seven cities and becoming an international airline, with a flight from Boston to
Quebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
,
QuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
,
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It adopted the slogan, "Linking Maine With the World".
By 1974, the airline offered round-trip services between each city it served. Being a commuter airline made this easy, as each of its services consisted of short flights with quick turnaround times, and, with a large number of aircraft available, Bar Harbor had hubs in every city it served. During the 1970s, Bar Harbor Airlines primarily used
Beechcraft Model 99|-See also:-External links:*...
aircraft.
The airline also offered cargo service to the destinations it served. Bar Harbor's first crash, on August 16, 1976, was on a cargo flight from
Bangor International AirportBangor International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located west of the city of Bangor, in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. It is owned and operated by the City of Bangor and was formerly a military installation known as Dow Air Force Base. The airport possesses a single...
in
Bangor, MaineBangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...
, to Bar Harbor. The airplane carried only one person, the pilot, and he was not injured.
The airline's second accident proved to be tragic. On August 25, 1985, a Beechcraft Model 99 operating as
Flight 1808Bar Harbor Airlines Flight 1808 was a scheduled flight from Logan International Airport to Bangor International Airport in the United States on August 25, 1985. On final approach to Auburn/Lewiston Municipal Airport, the plane crashed short of the runway, killing all six passengers and two crew on...
crashed while landing in
Auburn, MaineAuburn is a city in and the county seat of Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 23,055 at the 2010 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan...
. Two crew members and six passengers, including
Samantha Reed SmithSamantha Reed Smith was an American schoolgirl and child actress from Manchester, Maine, who became famous in the Cold War-era United States and Soviet Union...
, died in the crash.
The 1980s
Besides the fact that the Beechcraft that crashed in 1985 carried Samantha Smith, the airline did not receive much bad publicity outside
New EnglandNew England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
after the accident. This was partly because commuter air carriers are generally known only around the communities they serve. Bar Harbor Airlines decided to make Boston's
Logan International AirportGeneral Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport is located in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts . It covers , has six runways, and employs an estimated 16,000 people. It is the 19th busiest airport in the United States.Boston serves as a focus city for JetBlue Airways...
its only permanent base, apart from the Bar Harbor airport hub. Also during this decade, the airline bought some Convair 600, CASA C-212 Aviocar,
Saab 340The Saab 340 is a discontinued Swedish two-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by a partnership between Saab and Fairchild Aircraft in a 65:35 ratio...
,
Beechcraft 1900The Beechcraft 1900 is a 19-passenger, pressurized twin-engine turboprop airplane manufactured by the Beechcraft Division of the Raytheon Company . It was designed, and is primarily used, as a regional airliner...
, and
ATR 42-Civil operators:The largest operators of the ATR-42 are FedEx Express, Airlinair, TRIP Linhas Aéreas,and Mexico City-based Aeromar respectively. Number of aircraft as of 2010:Some 70 other airlines operate smaller numbers of the type....
turbopropA turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...
aircraft, putting them into service immediately. Bar Harbor began to operate flights under a code-share agreement with
Eastern Air LinesEastern Air Lines was a major United States airline that existed from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida.-History:...
, and later with
Continental AirlinesContinental Airlines was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines. On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc...
.
In April 1987, Texas Air Corporation purchased 50% of Bar Harbor Airlines, through a transfer of its ownership of
Provincetown-Boston AirlinesProvincetown-Boston Airline , or better known as PBA, was an airline that operated between 1949 and 1989. The airline operated a route network in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida, and at one time was the largest commuter airline in the United States before its purchase by People...
(PBA) to Bar Harbor. Texas Air had acquired PBA through its merger with People Express, and already owned Eastern Airlines and Continental Airlines. At the time, Provincetown-Boston (PBA) was operating as
Continental ExpressContinental Express is the operating brand name used by a number of independently owned regional airlines providing regional jet feeder service under agreement with Continental Airlines...
, and Bar Harbor as Eastern Express. Texas Air continued to operate the consolidated PBA/Bar Harbor as a commuter carrier for both Continental and Eastern, with hub operations at Boston, New York/LaGuardia, Newark, Philadelphia, Tampa and Miami.
In 1989 Bar Harbor moved its headquarters to Houston,
TexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
from Maine after the state refused to renew a multi-million dollar tax break.
The 1990s to Today
With additional aircraft financing, Texas Air International (through
Eastern Air LinesEastern Air Lines was a major United States airline that existed from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida.-History:...
and
Continental AirlinesContinental Airlines was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines. On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc...
) acquired a majority interest in Bar Harbor. Bar Harbor stopped flying its older aircraft, as well as the older PBA aircraft by the beginning of 1990 in favor of newer, modern aircraft. After Eastern's strike, bankruptcy filing, and ultimate separation from Texas Air, Bar Harbor too had to be divided between the two carriers. The aircraft fleet was divided between the two parents; the Saab 340s and Beechcraft 99s went to Eastern, and the ATR 42s went to Continental. The routes were divided between the two carriers. The Miami and Tampa hubs went to Eastern and continued operating as Eastern Express, while the Newark, LaGuardia, and Boston hubs went to Continental and operated as Continental Express. Employees were given the choice of going with either the Eastern Express division or the Continental Express portion of Bar Harbor. The Bar Harbor Airlines name and operating certificate ironically went to Eastern for the Florida operation. Continental then merged the New England portion of Bar Harbor and PBA with its other commuter carriers:
Britt AirwaysBritt Airways was a United States commuter airline based in Terre Haute, Indiana.In 1985, the founder and owner of Britt Airways, Bill Britt, sold the airline to People Express. Frank Lorenzo's holding company, Texas Air Corporation, acquired People Express, following Texas Air's acquisition of...
(based in Terre Haute, Indiana) and
Rocky Mountain AirwaysRocky Mountain Airways was an American commuter airline headquartered in Hangar No. 6 of Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado. It was sold to Texas Air Corporation/Continental Airlines in 1986....
(based in Denver), and operated Continental Express under the Britt Airways certificate.
Bar Harbor Airlines and its parent Eastern Airlines suffered economically from the
Gulf WarThe Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
of 1991. Rising fuel costs from the war, as well as management and labor issues were contributing factors in Eastern's demise. Only two months after Eastern stopped flying in January 1991, Bar Harbor ceased flying as Eastern Express. Efforts by a small group of investors were made to purchase Bar Harbor's former Eastern Express assets prior to their liquidation but ultimately proved futile as they too were liquidated along with the remains of Eastern.
Bar Harbor's former northern routes continued to grow and develop operating as Continental Express, now under the Britt Airways operating certificate. By 1992, Continental Express gave up the original Bar Harbor route (Bar Harbor to Boston) to
Colgan AirColgan Air, Inc. is an American certificated regional airline subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines Corp. The headquarters of Colgan Air are located in Memphis, Tennessee....
, as well as the Boston and LaGuardia hubs completely, consolidating East coast operations at Newark. Many of the former Bar Harbor and PBA cities (Bangor, Portland, Presque Isle, Burlington, Hartford, Manchester, Albany, Philadelphia, Hyannis) continued to operate with flights to Newark using ex-Bar Harbor ATR 42 aircraft.
Livery
During the 1970s, the airline featured a rather simple, small yellow cheatline livery on otherwise all-white airplanes. Later, a bold livery of single red and blue stripes separated by large blue stars was adopted. As an
Eastern ExpressThe Eastern Express is an overnight passenger train operated by the Turkish State Railways. The train runs from İstanbul's Haydarpaşa Terminal to Kars Railway Station in Kars. The train was the first overnight service east of Ankara. The Eastern Express stops in 11 provincial capitals: İstanbul,...
carrier, Bar Harbor utilized a modified Eastern Airlines color scheme including a flared "hockey stick" livery on the tail.
Incidents and accidents
The following are major incidents and accidents that occurred involving Bar Harbor aircraft.
Bar Harbor Airlines Reported Incidents
| Flight |
Date |
Aircraft |
Location |
Description |
Casualties |
| Fatal |
Serious |
Minor/Uninjured |
Ground |
| Bar Harbor Airlines Flight 1808 Bar Harbor Airlines Flight 1808 was a scheduled flight from Logan International Airport to Bangor International Airport in the United States on August 25, 1985. On final approach to Auburn/Lewiston Municipal Airport, the plane crashed short of the runway, killing all six passengers and two crew on...
http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19850825-0 |
August 25, 1985 |
Beechcraft Model 99 |-See also:-External links:*...
|
Auburn, MaineAuburn is a city in and the county seat of Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 23,055 at the 2010 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan...
. |
The aircraft missed the runway of the Lewiston-Auburn Regional Airport Auburn/Lewiston Municipal Airport is a public use airport in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States, opened in 1935. It is located four nautical miles southwest the cities of Auburn and Lewiston, both of which own and operate the airport, although it is located solely in the city of Auburn.The...
in Auburn, MaineAuburn is a city in and the county seat of Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 23,055 at the 2010 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan...
by 200 yards (182.9 m) and crashed, killing all six passengers and two crew members on board. Samantha SmithSamantha Reed Smith was an American schoolgirl and child actress from Manchester, Maine, who became famous in the Cold War-era United States and Soviet Union...
, a famous 13 year old American school girl and "Goodwill Ambassador" to the Soviet Union was among those killed. |
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