PenAir (Peninsula Airways) (Anchorage) is expanding outside of Alaska to other parts of the country. The company has been awarded by the Department of Transportation (DOT) to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) from both Presque Isle and Bar Harbor in Maine to Boston with 34-seat SAAB 340B turboprop aircraft.

Read the full article from Bangor Daily News: CLICK HERE

In addition, the company is currently wet leasing SAAB 340B N364PX to Island Air in Hawaii effective on March 1.

Read the full story from HNL RareBirds: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Rainer Bexten. SAAB 340B N675PA displays the old markings in Anchorage.

Video: A SAAB 340B in the new livery lands at a rainy Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands:

Routes in Alaska:

Click on the map to expand.

PenAir (Peninsula Airways) SAAB 340B N677PA (msn 328) (bears) ANC (Tony Storck), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

A bill had been introduced in Congress to end the Essential Air Service (EAS) program by former presidential candidate Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) according to this article by the Alaska Dispatch. The proposed amendment would end the EAS program as Congress searches for programs to cut.

Read the full story from the Alaska Dispatch:

CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Tony Storck. Airlines like PenAir, especially those in Alaska, are rallying along with the remote communities they serve to fight the proposed cuts. Read the full story of the EAS program by clicking on the photo.