Bar Harbor Airlines - The 1990s To Today

The 1990s To Today

With additional aircraft financing, Texas Air International (through Eastern Air Lines and Continental Airlines) acquired a majority interest in Bar Harbor. Bar Harbor stopped flying its older aircraft and the older PBA aircraft by the beginning of 1990 in favor of newer, modern aircraft. After Eastern's strike, bankruptcy filing, and ultimate separation from Texas Air, Bar Harbor too had to be divided between the two carriers. The aircraft fleet was divided between the two parents; the Saab 340s and Beechcraft 99s went to Eastern, and the ATR 42s went to Continental. The routes were divided between the two carriers. The Miami and Tampa hubs went to Eastern and continued operating as Eastern Express, while the Newark, LaGuardia, and Boston hubs went to Continental and operated as Continental Express. Employees were given the choice of going with either the Eastern Express division or the Continental Express portion of Bar Harbor. The Bar Harbor Airlines name and operating certificate ironically went to Eastern for the Florida operation. Continental then merged the New England portion of Bar Harbor and PBA with its other commuter carriers: Britt Airways (based in Terre Haute, Indiana) and Rocky Mountain Airways (based in Denver), and operated Continental Express under the Britt Airways certificate.

Bar Harbor Airlines and its parent Eastern Airlines suffered economically from the Gulf War of 1991. Rising fuel costs from the war, as well as management and labor issues were contributing factors in Eastern's demise. Only two months after Eastern stopped flying in January 1991, Bar Harbor ceased flying as Eastern Express. Efforts by a small group of investors were made to purchase Bar Harbor's former Eastern Express assets prior to their liquidation but ultimately proved futile as they too were liquidated along with the remains of Eastern.

Bar Harbor's former northern routes continued to grow and develop operating as Continental Express, now under the Britt Airways operating certificate. By 1992, Continental Express gave up the original Bar Harbor route (Bar Harbor to Boston) to Colgan Air, as well as the Boston and LaGuardia hubs completely, consolidating East coast operations at Newark. Many of the former Bar Harbor and PBA cities (Bangor, Portland, Presque Isle, Burlington, Hartford, Manchester, Albany, Philadelphia, Hyannis) continued to operate with flights to Newark using ex-Bar Harbor ATR 42 aircraft.