Downeast Airlines was a commuter airline based in Rockland, Maine

Rockland, Maine

Rockland is a city in Knox County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,297. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is a popular tourist destination...

 from 1960 to June 1, 2007 when it was acquired by Maine Atlantic Aviation (MAA).
In 1960, Robert Stenger established the company based at the Knox County Regional Airport

Knox County Regional Airport

Knox County Regional Airport is a public airport located the town of Owls Head, three miles south of the central business district of the city of Rockland, in Knox County, Maine, USA. The airport covers and has two runways....

 in Rockland, Maine

Rockland, Maine

Rockland is a city in Knox County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,297. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is a popular tourist destination...

. The fixed base operator

Fixed base operator

A Fixed-base operator or commonly abbreviated FBO is a term developed in the United States after the passage of the Air Commerce Act of 1926...

 started as Mid-Coast Airways and later changed its name to Downeast Airlines which was inspired by the area of 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...

 from around Rockland south to Portland, Maine

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...

 that has been known for at least two centuries as "Downeast Maine".

After leaving the US Army as a sergeant in the mid-fifties and using his Veterans Administration

United States Department of Veterans Affairs

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...

 educational benefits to pay for flight lessons, Stenger received his commercial pilot's license and later started the company.