Oddball routes no.2: Boston - Rutland, Vt by Cape Air

Nothing all that odd about this route, which is a subsidised US Essential Air Service (EAS) link now flown by Cape Air joining the city of Boston with what looks like the rather attractive Rutland. What's interesting about it is what has happened on it since Cape Air, with its Cessna 402B fleet, took it over from Continental Connection carrier Commutair.

Boston.com - the website of The Boston Globe - reports as follows:

But Cape Air has succeeded with its year-old Essential Air Service route between Boston and Rutland, Vt. Using an aircraft half as large as the plane flown by its predecessor, CommutAir, has allowed Cape Air to slash fares 50 percent and boost flight frequency 75 percent.

As a result, Cape Air attracted 143 percent more passengers between November 2007 and August 2008 than CommutAir did during the same period a year earlier, Cape Air said.

"Instead of using the subsidy money to fly more empty seats, which is what happens with the bigger planes, we're using the subsidy money to offer lower fares," Wolf said. "When you offer fares like that, you can stimulate the market."

That's part of a longer story on Cape Air - a rare happy tale in these troubled times.

Here is oddball route no.1 by the way.