Rectrix Aviation Looks to Fill Void Left by Island Air With New Airline

COURTESY OF RECTRIX AVIATION

COURTESY OF RECTRIX AVIATION

HYANNIS – A solution may have been found to fill the hole in passenger flight service between Hyannis and Nantucket left from the abrupt shut down of Island Airlines in December.

Rectrix Aviation, which provides private charters, is making its first foray into scheduled passenger service and has submitted an application with the Department of Transportation to provide the flights.

Rectrix CEO Richard Cawley said the company is going to bring back the “golden age of aviation” and provide the same class of service offered on its charters.

“We are going to be top shelf, five-star, Ritz Carlton all the way for everyone from flying an electrician or a carpenter all the way to flying someone who owns a seasonal home on Nantucket,” Cawley said.

Cawley said the Cape and Islands market is perfect for Rectrix because the company has infrastructure in place and a low fuel cost. The company owns its own fuel farm which keeps its fuel costs about $1.50 less per gallon compared to its competition.

“We are going to capture about 50 percent of Island Airways original market share. That’s our goal,” he said. “Once we achieve that goal we will actually expand our service.”

A price point for the service has not been set but Cawley said it will be higher than Cape Air.

“There is a number of reasons for that,” he said. “We are flying turboprops and we will have two pilots in each plane as opposed to the one pilot that Cape Air has.”

Rectrix will be offering a cheaper introductory fare to get customers to try out the service.

“We are looking at a different type of market,” Cawley said. “We are going to create something new and something special.”

The application to the DOT was submitted in January with the process expected to take from three to six months.

“I really can’t say when the launch date will be,” Cawley said. “We’ll have a better idea, I would assume, sometime in March.”

The company intends to have the service up and running for the summer tourist season.

Other routes from Worcester and New York are also in the early planning stages.

Rectrix is the state’s largest private charter company that owns its fleet and fixed base operations. The company currently provides on-demand service with a stable of seven jet aircraft.

Island Airlines, which had served the Nantucket community for over 24 years, gave no reason for the shut down.

By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter

About CapeCod.com NewsCenter

The award-winning CapeCod.com NewsCenter provides the Cape Cod community with a constant, credible source for local news. We are on the job seven days a week.

Comments

  1. Ron semprini says

    What a great partnership,, the airport and Rectrix ,, could not find a more suitable carrier ,,, Rectrix and their staff are a number 1 in all they do… Very professional ,,, best of luck

Speak Your Mind

*



CapeCod.com
737 West Main Street
Hyannis, MA 02601
Contact Us | Advertise Terms of Use 
Employment and EEO | Privacy