Winter Updates - November 2025
A few operational updates as we head into the winter.
Laundry Service
On island laundry can, at times, be challenging. Whether you are turning over an Airbnb, lack an oversized washer for that comforter, or are just tired of the iron content in your water turning everything orange. PIA has partnered with the Garden Island in Rockland to offer laundromat services. Here’s how it works.
- We sell you this fun PIA-branded laundry bag for $10.
- You fill it with whatever you want to wash, and coordinate the pickup with dispatch.
- We return it within a week, freshly laundered.
“Why do I need to buy a bag?” great question. One, it’s sturdy, so we can have these things moving around on planes. It’s standardized; we didn’t want people bringing us random laundry baskets with socks falling out. It’s recognizable, so if we see one lying around, we know either to grab it or return it.
We are going to learn more about operationalizing this service, but we wanted to roll this out in the winter so we can make all the tweaks before summer.
You can learn more here
North Haven Airstrip Restrictions
The North Haven airstrip restrictions have left us for the winter. I charted trips, passengers, and reservations per month.
You should book a flight?
Matinicus Landing Fees
Fun fact: Matinicus’ airstrip is the only strip where we pay a lease and maintenance, and it’s starting to add up, over $20k this year alone. We have traditionally swept it under the “cost of doing business” rug, but we want to fairly attribute costs across islands. I.e., if Vinalhaven, North Haven, Isleboro, Criehaven, and Big Green are maintaining their runways, it should cost less to fly there.
Over the next few months, you’ll see us add a landing fee to the price of a ticket to Matinicus ($7.77, to be exact). We spoke with the town's assessors, and this was deemed the most appropriate course of action.
$7.77 is a pretty number, but it also happens to be our $21k budget, minus landing fees we can attribute to freight landings, divided by 2,367, our projected enplanements to Matinicus in 2026.
This will keep the grass mowed, the shed from leaking, and, most importantly, a fresh coat of gravel on the strip. The wear pattern is pretty rough right now, but good news, the transporter will be there soon with some fresh rock.
Sunday Funday
We continue to work with Hannafords on the process. Those poor souls keep getting system updates that are anti-Banana Box. Last weekend, they had a two-hour fire drill during prime Sunday Funday picking time.
A reminder to have those orders in early. Their newer system is less conducive to last-minute fulfillment. As always, thanks for your patience.
Robin R
It’s coming out of the water. Listen, I made a valiant effort to keep it around, but with little charter work and the amount of work to keep it from freezing up on us with such infrequent work, it makes more sense to pull it. She’ll get her fall spa day, then go into hibernation till spring.
Plane Update
We put a deposit down on a new-to-us Cessna 206 for the summer 2026 season. It’s currently disassembled in a barn in Minnesota, but the maintenance crew will be putting it back together over the winter.
Operations Manager
Lastly, we are hiring again and thought I’d put it out to the local community first.
The Operations & Administration Manager is the connective tissue behind the company’s financial, administrative, and operational rhythm. This role ensures smooth coordination across accounting, HR, compliance, and vendor relationships while safeguarding accuracy and accountability.
Basically, we work in a heavily regulated industry, and there are a bunch of rules that we need to follow. You don’t need to know anything about airplanes; it’s actually better if you don’t. You should know a lot about people and organization, the rest you can learn. You can drop me a line: sean@flypenobscot.com
We appreciate this community for your trust, your feedback, and your willingness to adapt right alongside us. Thank you for letting us keep doing what we do.