Starlink Route to Portland Approved
During the past half-decade Nova Scotia has taken a big hit when it comes to transportation portals, especially the South Shore. The Prince of Fundy ferry from Maine set the schedules for many tourism events and room nights in the area. For example three-day tours were designed around the arrival and departure times of the ferry. So when the ferry service stopped this whole delicate balance was thrown to the wind and many tourism operators were hurt.
But what about the Cat ferry? Well, yes it does originate in Maine but the new schedules didn’t mesh with the established tourism market in southern Nova Scotia. Hotels, bed-and-breakfast establishments and other attractions suffered from the disruption of services and this financial downturn was deepened last year when oil reached record heights along with the soaring Canadian dollar.
The U.S. Transportation Department has given permission Quebec’s Starlink Airlines to run an 18-seat turboprop between Portland, Maine and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia on a twice-daily basis. Not only will the service extend to the main hub of Halifax, the other Starlink route, it will also be in position for Maritimers and Americans alike to connect with major airlines that fly into Portland like Continental, Northwest U.S. Airways, United Airlines, JetBlue and Air Tran.
What this means to Nova Scotia travelers is that they have an alternative to Newark, New York and Toronto as connecting cities for U.S. destinations like Florida. In return Americans from new England have a choice between a ferry ride and flying to Halifax via Yarmouth.
One-way fares are not cheap: $149 from Yarmouth to Portland and $249 from Halifax to Portland. However, the convenience, in many cases, is worth it. For an American it’s only $200 versus a bus ride from Halifax to Yarmouth and then a long ferry ride.
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