note
PBA began operations as Provincetown-Boston Airline operating small aircraft between the two points. The airline operated a southern division, Naples Airlines, which operated between several Florida points. The New England expanded to concentrate on the Cape and Islands, Boston, and New York. The airline operated a number of small aircraft, such as a Stinson SM-8A, Lockheed L-10 Electra, Piper Cherokee 6, Piper Apache/Aztec, and BN Islander. The Cessna 402 was finally settled upon as the twin of choice. It later acquired second hand DC-3s and Martin 404s, which were rotated between the northern and southern divisions to meet seasonal demand. In 1980 the airline settled on the "PBA" name. As part of expansion in both its northern and southern divisions, it acquired a fleet of Embraer Bandeirantes, as well as as some second-hand YS-11s from Piedmont. On October 5, 1984, it acquired Marco Airways, which operated a small fleet of Martin 404s within the state of Florida. Shortly thereafter on November 10, the airline was grounded by the FAA. Service resumed with Cessnas and Bandeirantes in December, but re-certification of the DC-3s and YS-11s took longer. Financial pressures forced the airline to file for bankruptcy on November 13, 1985. The airline was taken over by PEOPLExpress on March 13, 1986, and began operating feeder flights to Newark with the Bandeirantes and YS-11s. When Texas Air acquired PEOPLExpress in 1987, Texas Air-owned Bar Harbor Airlines acquired PBA, but was operated separately. The Continental Express Newark operations continued, while the DC-3s operated as Eastern Express in Florida and New England. All of flights ended on September 6, 1988, when all of PBA's remaining routes were taken over by Bar Harbor.
founded - demised (age)
November 30 1949 - September 6 1988 (39)
headquarters
, Provincetown, MA
web
base airports
related operators
current /stored fleet (0)
