Air New England was an American commuter airline with service to New England

New England

New 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...

 communities during the 1970s. It was headquartered at Logan International Airport

Logan International Airport

General 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...

 in the East Boston area of Boston

Boston

Boston 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...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

.

Scheduled service began in 1970 and continued until the company went out of business in 1981. Air New England holds the distinction of being the first airline certificated by the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board since Ozark Air Lines

Ozark Air Lines

Ozark Air Lines was a commercial airline that operated in the United States from 1950 until 1986, when it was purchased by Trans World Airlines. A second, smaller airline by that same name operated in 2000-2001. Ozark, from 1950 until 1986, had its headquarters on the grounds of Lambert-St. Louis...

 in 1950. In the days prior to the Airline Deregulation Act

Airline Deregulation Act

The Airline Deregulation Act is a United States federal law signed into law on October 24, 1978. The main purpose of the act was to remove government control over fares, routes and market entry from commercial aviation...

 of 1978, airlines (other than small commuters) were required to operate with a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. Air New England operated principally with a fleet of DeHavilland Twin Otter and Fairchild Hiller FH-227

Fairchild Hiller FH-227

The Fairchild F-27 and Fairchild Hiller FH-227 were versions of the Fokker F27 Friendship twin-engined turboprop passenger aircraft manufactured under license by Fairchild Hiller in the United States...

 turboprop aircraft.
ANE was formed in November 1970 by Joseph Whitney, Nelson Lee, formerly of Executive Airlines and George Parmenter of Cape and Island Airways. Based in Hyannis, MA, they operated Beech 18's and a Twin Otter around the Cape and Islands, Boston and La Guardia. They expanded in 1971 with the first of 6 DC-3's. 1972 and 1973 saw more expansion with additional Twin Otters and Beech 99's. The Beech 18's were retired at this point. By 1974 the airline had expanded into Maine, Vermont, New York and would fly to all 6 New England states by 1978. In 1975 ANE received Part 121 certification and added FH-227's, bought from Delta Air Lines, to the fleet. Additional FH-227's were purchased from Ozark and by 1979, Convair 580's were added too. By this time the Beech 99's and DC-3's had been retired. Major expansion outside of NE occurred in 1979 to Albany, NY, Baltimore-Washington and Cleveland, but the handwriting was on the wall as the effects of deregulation began to materialize. ANE shutdown on 10/31/81 with 175 pilots, nearly 600 employees and had transported more than 3.6 million passengers safely. With deregulation and code sharing firmly in place ANE was the last of the stand alone commuter airlines.

Former destinations served

• Connecticut
  Connecticut
  Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
  
  
  • Hartford
    Hartford, Connecticut
    Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
    
     (Bradley International Airport
    Bradley International Airport
    Bradley International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located in Windsor Locks on the border with East Granby and Suffield, in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is owned by the State of Connecticut....
    
    )
• Maine
  Maine
  Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
  
  
  
  • Augusta
    Augusta, Maine
    Augusta is the capital of the US state of Maine, county seat of Kennebec County, and center of population for Maine. The city's population was 19,136 at the 2010 census, making it the third-smallest state capital after Montpelier, Vermont and Pierre, South Dakota...
    
     (Augusta State Airport
    Augusta State Airport
    Augusta State Airport is a public use airport located one nautical mile northwest of the central business district of Augusta, a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. It is owned by the state of Maine, but managed and operated by the city of Augusta. The airport is mostly used for...
    
    )
  • Lewiston
    Lewiston, Maine
    Lewiston is a city in Androscoggin County in Maine, and the second-largest city in the state. The population was 41,592 at the 2010 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included within the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area and the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine...
    
     (Auburn/Lewiston Municipal Airport
    Auburn/Lewiston Municipal 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...
    
    )*
  • Portland
    Portland, Maine
    Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
    
     (Portland International Jetport
    Portland International Jetport
    Portland International Jetport is a public airport located two miles west of the central business district of Portland, in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. It is owned by the city of Portland...
    
    )
  • Waterville
    Waterville, Maine
    Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The population was 15,722 at the 2010 census. Home to Colby College and Thomas College, Waterville is the regional commercial, medical and cultural center....
    
     (Waterville Robert LaFleur Airport
    Waterville Robert LaFleur Airport
    Waterville Robert Lafleur Airport is a general aviation airport located two miles southwest of the central business district of Waterville, a city in Kennebec County, Maine, USA...
    
    )*
• Maryland
  Maryland
  Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
  
  
  • Baltimore (Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport
    Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport
    Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is an international airport serving the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area in the United States. It is commonly called BWI, BWI Airport or BWI Marshall, BWI being an initialism for "Baltimore/Washington International" and the...
    
    )
• Massachusetts
  Massachusetts
  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
  
  
  • Boston (Logan International Airport
    Logan International Airport
    General 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...
    
    )
  • Hyannis
    Hyannis, Massachusetts
    Hyannis is the largest of seven villages in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Also it is the commercial and transportation hub of Cape Cod and was designated an urban area as a result of the 1990 census. Because of this, many refer to Hyannis as the "Capital of the Cape"...
    
     (Barnstable Municipal Airport
    Barnstable Municipal Airport
    Barnstable Municipal Airport , also known as Boardman/Polando Field, is a public airport located on Cape Cod, one mile north of the central business district of Hyannis, in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. This airport is publicly owned by Town of Barnstable...
    
    )
  • Martha's Vineyard (Martha's Vineyard Airport
    Martha's Vineyard Airport
    Martha's Vineyard Airport is a public airport located in the middle of the island of Martha's Vineyard, three miles south of the central business district of Vineyard Haven, in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. This airport is owned by Dukes County and lies on the border between the...
    
    )
  • Nantucket
    Nantucket, Massachusetts
    Nantucket is an island south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in the United States. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the town of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and the coterminous Nantucket County, which are consolidated. Part of the town is designated the Nantucket...
    
     (Nantucket Memorial Airport
    Nantucket Memorial Airport
    Nantucket Memorial Airport is a public airport on the south side of the island of Nantucket in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The airport is owned by the Town of Nantucket and is located three miles southeast of the town...
    
    )
  • New Bedford
    New Bedford, Massachusetts
    New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...
    
     (New Bedford Regional Airport
    New Bedford Regional Airport
    New Bedford Regional Airport is a public airport located two miles northwest of the central business district of New Bedford, a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States...
    
    )
• New Hampshire
  New Hampshire
  New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
  
  
  • Keene
    Keene, New Hampshire
    Keene is a city in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,409 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Cheshire County.Keene is home to Keene State College and Antioch University New England, and hosts the annual Pumpkin Fest...
    
     (Dillant-Hopkins Airport
    Dillant-Hopkins Airport
    Dillant-Hopkins Airport is a general aviation airport located south of the central business district of Keene, in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, USA. It covers and has two runways....
    
    )*
  • Lebanon
    Lebanon, New Hampshire
    As of the census of 2000, there were 12,568 people, 5,500 households, and 3,178 families residing in the city. The population density was 311.4 people per square mile . There were 5,707 housing units at an average density of 141.4 per square mile...
    
     (Lebanon Municipal Airport)
  • Manchester
    Manchester, New Hampshire
    Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
    
     (Manchester Airport
    Manchester-Boston Regional Airport
    Manchester-Boston Regional Airport , commonly referred to simply as "Manchester Airport," is a public airport located three miles south of the central business district of Manchester, New Hampshire on the county line of Hillsborough and Rockingham counties...
    
    )
• New York
  New York
  New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
  
  
  • Albany
    Albany, New York
    Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
    
     (Albany International Airport
    Albany International Airport
    Albany International Airport is a public use airport located six nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Albany, in Albany County, New York, United States. It is owned by the Albany County Airport Authority....
    
    )
  • New York
    New York City
    New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
    
     (LaGuardia Airport
    LaGuardia Airport
    LaGuardia Airport is an airport located in the northern part of Queens County on Long Island in the City of New York. The airport is located on the waterfront of Flushing Bay and Bowery Bay, and borders the neighborhoods of Astoria, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. The airport was originally...
    
    )
• Ohio
  Ohio
  Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
  
  
  • Cleveland
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
    
     (Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
    Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
    Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is a public airport located nine miles southwest of the central business district of Cleveland, a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The airport lies just within the city limits of Cleveland...
    
    )
• Rhode Island
  Rhode Island
  The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
  
  
  • Newport
    Newport, Rhode Island
    Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
    
     (Newport State Airport
    Newport State Airport (Rhode Island)
    Newport State Airport is a public use airport in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. It serves the city of Newport and is located two nautical miles northeast of its central business district. There is no scheduled airline service available, but it once was served by Air New...
    
    )*
  • Providence
    Providence, Rhode Island
    Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
    
     (T. F. Green Airport
    T. F. Green Airport
    T. F. Green Airport , also known as Theodore Francis Green State Airport, is a public airport located in Warwick, six miles south of Providence, in Kent County, Rhode Island, USA. Dedicated in 1931, the airport was named for former Rhode Island governor and longtime senator Theodore F. Green...
    
    )
• Vermont
  Vermont
  Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
  
  
  • Burlington
    Burlington, Vermont
    Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....
    
     (Burlington International Airport
    Burlington International Airport
    Burlington International Airport is a joint-use public and military airport in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. It is owned by the City of Burlington...
    
    )
  • Montpelier
    Montpelier, Vermont
    Montpelier is a city in the U.S. state of Vermont that serves as the state capital and the shire town of Washington County. As the capital of Vermont, Montpelier is the site of the Vermont State House, seat of the legislative branch of Vermont government. The population was 7,855 at the 2010...
    
     (Edward F. Knapp State Airport
    Edward F. Knapp State Airport
    Edward F. Knapp State Airport is a general aviation airport located in Berlin, Vermont, United States; it is located three miles west of the central business district of Barre. As well as serving Barre, it also serves the Montpelier region...
    
    )*

Those airports marked with an asterisk (*) are no longer served by commercial air service.

Accidents and incidents

On 17 June 1979, an Air New England de Havilland Twin Otter aircraft crashed

Air New England Flight 248

Air New England Flight 248 was a commercial airliner that crashed on approach to Barnstable Municipal Airport on June 17, 1979. All of those on the plane survived with the exception of the pilot, who was killed instantly.-Flight designations, route, and crew:...

 while approaching Barnstable Municipal Airport

Barnstable Municipal Airport

Barnstable Municipal Airport , also known as Boardman/Polando Field, is a public airport located on Cape Cod, one mile north of the central business district of Hyannis, in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. This airport is publicly owned by Town of Barnstable...

 in Hyannis, Massachusetts

Hyannis, Massachusetts

Hyannis is the largest of seven villages in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Also it is the commercial and transportation hub of Cape Cod and was designated an urban area as a result of the 1990 census. Because of this, many refer to Hyannis as the "Capital of the Cape"...

. One person, the pilot, was killed.