Air service in Yarmouth to take flight Feb. 9

By Michael Gorman

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

Yarmouth’s new air carrier will begin service Feb. 9 with significant help from the province and area municipalities.

Starlink Aviation, a Quebec-based airline, will offer twice daily service from Yarmouth to Halifax and Yarmouth to Portland. Starlink’s reservation website — https://resonline.starlinkaviation.com/PubRechercheVols.aspx?lng=en — is now running and the operation is set to move into full flight.

Getting Starlink here was no small task, in terms of effort or finances. Richard Hurlburt, MLA for Yarmouth and minister of Service Nova Scotia, announced at a press conference at the Yarmouth International Airport that the province would commit $2 million to the service for the next five years.

If, in any given month, he said, Starlink does not meet its bottom line, they can draw from that fund to break even. On months in which the company makes a profit, they would be required to pay back whatever they borrow from the fund.

Hurlburt said he is pleased with the arrangement and the resumption of air service, but he also stressed the need for people to use the service. Hurlburt has said for some time that for the service to work, the local business community must be willing to support it.

At this point, Hurlburt said he believes that support is there. “Everybody I’ve talked to (is) very, very excited about this service coming in,” he said. “We have a company that has a great track record and I believe this service is going to benefit all of the south west region and Nova Scotia as a whole.”

Asked about possible conflicts between the new air service to Portland and the ferry that travels between here and that port, Hurlburt said officials from Bay Ferries and Starlink are working together to find ways to enhance their respective businesses.

Hurlburt said each service provides something the other cannot and presents ways for the two to work together. “We’ve really taken a long time developing this (and) I think we’ve got the right mix,” he said.

It’s a risky prospect, bringing an airline to a community that has not been successful in the past at supporting airlines and during a time when most companies are either putting a stop on growth or cutting back.

But Glen Lynch, Starlink’s president and CEO, said everything about the deal has him feeling positive. Lynch said he was impressed by the area’s commitment to making the service happen, both during negotiations and when he visited. “We explore markets, literally, all over Quebec and eastern Canada and the number one reason for being here is the support of the community and the support of the local officials.”

Lynch said the runs between Yarmouth and Halifax and Yarmouth and Portland are similar to the regional runs they do in Quebec. He said the service would allow people in remote areas such as ours to access larger markets all over North America via the links to Halifax and Portland. “The larger carriers, the mainline and tier two carriers, aren’t really serving the smaller communities like Yarmouth. We tend to fill that niche . . . We provide essentially the same service in a commuter-sized airplane.”

Lynch, like Hurlburt, stressed the need for the community to support the service. Although the company has access to the provincial fund, which will be administered by the province’s Department of Economic Development and the local airport commission, no company wants to stay in a situation in which they are losing money. “Everything, in terms of service longevity, is based on the demands of the community,” said Lynch. “The ultimate decision for whether a service succeeds or fails is in the hands of the community . . . The support that we’re feeling to date, we’ve very optimistic that the service has a future.”

With it unlikely that such an arrangement might ever come along again, officials from all parties are hoping that future is now.