MilesCollector

I'm thinking of using them for a Boston - Martha's Vineyard return trip as this seems to be the quickest way to MV from Boston, and arriving straight into Logan will suit us as we can wait in the BA lounge until our early evening flight back to the UK.

There isn't much about them online - any opinions?

LoganFlyer

I flew them last July on BOS-LEB. I enjoyed them; staff is very personal and in spite of pouring rain, my flight was on time. You can check a bag for free. There's no OLCI or kiosks; you have to get your BP from a TA. They fly 9 seat Cessnas which provide an awesome view (no cockpit door) but of course are bumpier than most other flights. They use 1 gate at Logan in the JetBlue area of the C concourse, so you will need to transfer over to E.

violist

They're fine.

MilesCollector

Thanks for the replies! Must remember the terminal change - cheers LoganFlyer.

Efrem

Based on one BOS-MVY flight a few years back, fine. It was odd looking through the windshield and seeing nothing but clouds, period. It's one thing to look out the side window of a big jet and see just clouds, but the immediacy of knowing that the pilot sees nothing but clouds too had a bigger impact. We broke out of the cover to see the little trees on the Vineyard, then the runway.

I suspect it would be a beautiful flight on a clear day, almost worth taking for its sightseeing value alone!

(I'd consider the ferry if I wasn't, or didn't want to be, at BOS. You'll want to be there for your return trip. If you won't be at the airport for your trip to the Vineyard and you want to consider a water trip in that direction, DATTCO has about ten trips a day from Boston's South Station bus terminal to New Bedford. Takes 1 hour 20 minutes, one-way fare $13. It's an easy downhill walk from the New Bedford terminal to the ferry dock, then an hour to the Vineyard by the fast ferry - and nobody will make you take your shoes off. If you have extra time before the boat leaves, New Bedford is the busiest commercial fishing port in the U.S.; its waterfront district, with lots of whaling history, is a fascinating place to spend it. I wouldn't take the Steamship Authority ferry from Woods Hole if time is important; the ground travel time is much longer even thought the boat ride is 15 minutes shorter.)

MilesCollector

Thanks for all this, Efrem. I agree it'll be odd being so close to the pilot! I've flown a cessna once, several years ago, and it was a rather bumpy ride, which is why I wanted to check that this airline is OK.

Does the ferry from New Bedford operate in mid october? Everything to and from MV seems to shut down after september.

I'll definitely investigate that route, but for the return trip I think it'll have to be Cape Air as we'll have a plane to catch back to London that evening.

Efrem

MV used to shut down after the U.S. Labo(u)r Day holiday, the first Monday in September. More recently things tend to stay open until the U.S. Columbus Day holiday, the second Monday in October. That will be the 11th next year. (This creates problems for businesses that depend on student workers who return to school after the summer season, but they find ways to cope.)

The fast ferry schedule for the latter part of next October is shown on their Web site (http://www.nefastferry.com/schedule.html) as two runs per day. The later one leaves New Bedford at 3:45 pm every day. The early run is at 6:30 on weekdays, too early to be practical for your purposes. On weekends, it's at 9:30.

If your trip is earlier in the month, there are five trips per day.

Of course, any schedules ten months out are subject to change.

MilesCollector

Thanks again - our trip is mid october unfortunately, so outside the 'season'.

But as you say it's all subject to change - they may have got a surge of off-season bookings last year and will extend it by a couple of weeks this year (one can only hope)