Abaco, so close yet so far. The superlatives to describe Abaco abound but getting there can often be arduous. It seems its the dream of many a retired pilot with a few bucks and backers to start up a Òlittle out island airlineÓ. Some manage to stick it out for a decade, many just a couple years. The reason is quite simple. How to keep the seats full during off peak periods and still run an credible scheduled air carrier on a shoe string. Eventually many switch to becoming air charters. Now chartering sounds like itÕs only for the rich and famous which isnÕt necessarily so. For just two folks maybe yes, bit a family of five or 2-3 couples some with kids, not so. Despite what you are about to read don't be discouraged. Abaco is worth it and as the saying goes....... "I travel not to go anywhere, but to go.Ê I travel for travel's sake.Ê The great affair is to move".Ê ~Robert Louis Stevenson

“In the Beginning.......” there was Mackey then came Out Island Airlines then Aero Coach, Air Sunshine and Florida Coastal......

It used to be that flying to the Abacos on the small 9 seat Cessna 402 commuter is half the fun of a quick fly over from south Florida. It's just an hour flight. The small plains fly at lower altitudes so you can almost see the fish in the turquoise waters near the islands. I think of them as sport cars as compared to a bus. They zip in and out of clouds easily bypassing any thunderheads. Oh, that 9th seat, actually a copilot's seat, was generally filled by a passenger as chosen by the pilot and usually blonde and female.

The only negative is, the longevity of these small carriers. All five of the aforementioned have come and gone. New carriers arrived to fill the void and like their predecessors disappeared. 2007 & 2008, Chalk's International Airlines, a name synonymous with out island air service, had been resurrected and started flying to the Abacos and a new fleet of leased aircraft including 50 seater jets was promised. Then by the end of the summer they ceased flying due to the loss of it's federal operating license. Island Express Airline closed their hanger doors and no longer flying. Subsequent to that we hear they only had a single leased aircraft. No wonder. Then sadly on top of that, mid July 2008, saw the long time and pretty much reliable carrier of 16 years, Vintage Props & Jets filling for bankruptcy. Closer to home, my home, American Eagle, our airline of choice last year (via Miami) pulled out of Sarasota all together and Continental/Gulfstream dropped Miami and cut back on Lauderdale and West Palm.

As for the Vintage routing (NE & Central Fla) or loss thereof, it seems the slack is going to be picked up by, Island Pass, Craig Air and Air Gate. All are listed below. All three of the aforementioned were not mentioned on this page last year!

As of spring '09, "SHARED CHARTER" became the new catchword. Yellow Air Taxi, for instance, did away with scheduling and chose to "sell their seats" to South Eastern Travel & Tours, linked below. Island Pass is not a carrier but a booking agent for other regional carriers. Still other small carriers will book and hold your seats hoping for enough other passengers to make a flight worth while. If you are traveling with friends or family, you've effectively upped your odds of an on time take off. And finally, there are straight forward charters - the plane and schedule is yours.

Editing this page, spring '09, as far as scheduled airlines are concerned, there are two "major carriers". American/American Eagle one daily flight from Miami to Marsh and Continental/Gulfstream which flies to both Treasure Cay & Marsh Harbour from FLL but only Marsh Harbour from PBI You can add to that, Bahamas Air, it has a single non stop five days a week from only West Palm to Marsh Harbour. The two US carriers can of course also provide "same carrier" connections to many other US cities. Things could change by high season (May - July) so check their links below.

As an alternative - to connecting flights in Florida, you might try connecting via Freeport, Grand Bahama. Quite a few larger US cities have nonstop flights to Freeport where you can hop aboard a flight by "Regional Air". They fly to both Marsh Harbour and Treasure Cay. They have 3 flights a day. Their link is posted below. Here is what Ken, AKA Abacoparrott had to say on a FORUM posting about his spring (2008) trip "..... As I had mentioned in an earlier report, we are trying a different way to get to Abaco this time. Regional Air is flying us from Marsh to Freeport and then Delta-Atlanta-Charlotte. This is a much better way to get to Abaco than I anticipated. Freeport is a very uncrowded Airport. Our flights down had been perfect and so has our current return flights. Freeport is one of the few airports where you can clear customs BEFORE you get back to the states. When we land in Atlanta in about 50 minutes we don't have to clear customs again. Since Freeport is so uncrowded, clearing customs was extremely easy and comfortable in the clean, air-conditioned airport there. For those of you who can fly directly into Freeport from your home, this flight scenario should be considered." The whole report.

You will often see on the two popular Abaco sounding boards, The Abaco Forum and the Abaco Board, had many reports of missed connections and lost luggage and the number one culprit seemed to be Bahamas Air (a USAir partner) with connections through Nassau. Sadly there is no way around this as all carriers have calamities posted. I for one had an eight hour delay on Continental going from Marsh Harbour to (just) Tampa resulting in being put up over night in Fort Lauderdale! At that point, I could have rented a car and driven the rest of the way!. My sister had an interesting experience a year earlier - same airline connecting to Phila via Lauderdale. After the plane took off they returned to Marsh Harbour to drop off the Palm Beach bound bags inadvertently stowed on the Lauderdale flight. AGAIN, if you have questions pertaining to quality of service of a specific carrier, head to the two aforementioned and post your question.

Marsh Harbour, (MHH) Abaco, Bahamas, Air Carriers and Charters, as of April 14, 2009. Check carrier schedule for flights to Treasure Cay (TCB) for Green Turtle Cay. Many carriers also fly to other Bahamian Out Islands via state side cities, some even from Marsh Harbour often with a Nassau connection. Both local phone and US phone numbers are listed. The area code for the Bahamas is 242 if calling from the U.S.


Abaco Air Charters - Via MHH - Nassau, N. Eleuthera, Moores Is. 367-2266
Air Gate - Via Orlando, Melbourne. 367-3636
American Eagle -Via Miami US# 800-433-7300 / Local 367-2231
Bahamasair - Via W. Palm Beach & Nassau. US# 800-222-4262 / Local 377-8451
Bimini Island Air Charters - Via Ft. Lauderdale US# 954-938-8991
Cherokee Air Charters - Via MHH 367-3450 - US# 866-920-9971
Continental Gulfstream - via Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, West Palm US# 800-525-0280 / Local 367-3415,
Craig Air - via Jacksonville (NE Fla) US# 904-641-0300
Island Pass - via Daytona (NE Fla) US# 386-492-2984
Island Air Charters - via Ft. Lauderdale. US# 954-359-9942
Lynx Air International Charters -Via Ft. Lauderdale / Hollywood. US# 888-596-9247 or 954-990-1700
Regional Air via -Freeport (242) 351-5614, Treasure Cay 367-0446, Marsh Harbour 353-1225
Sky Bahamas -Scheduled Nassau flights & Out Islands 242-377-8993
Southern Air Charters -Stateside Via Nassau & Out Islands US#367-2498, 323-7217
Twin Air Calypso- Via Ft. Lauderdale US#954-359-8266
Wings Air (Atlanta Based) - Via Ft. Lauderdale US# 877-359-2285
Yellow Air Taxi / South Eastern Travel - Via Ft. Lauderdale US# 888-935-5694 / Local 367-0032

PS. . A Bahamian Govt. press release dated 09/04/2006, promised a five fold increase in terminal size at Marsh Harbour which has yet to commence but is still in the capital budget a/o 2009. The good new is, April 2009 saw the completion of Marsh Harbour's new longer runway "enabling it to accommodate the latest in smaller jet aircraft being used by international airlines", however as of our visit in June it was not yet in service.

Some rules to consider when planning a trip to the Abacos.