Portsmouth/ SFB on Pan Am lately?

[darlene walker]

We haven't used this airline in awhile. Has anyone had a recent good or bad experiece with them lately. They are about a 50 min. drive from us and they have free parking and good rates for the end of the year. AAA won't recommend them due to their finacial background (which I am clueless). The rep. said you never know if they'll still be in bussiness by then. I always thought they did very well with bookings.
Darlene

 

[pumpkinboy]

It's not the same as the old PanAm. It is a group that bought the rights to the old name and started a charter airline, serving mainly Manchester and Portsmouth NH. I grew up in the Kennebunks so understand the appeal of flying out of the old Pease AFB.

If you want to fly them, buy your tickets a bit closer to the time you are leaving. Some have heard rumors about PanAm cancelling flights if they haven't sold enough tickets. They are tight on capital and so I think your travel agent is right to be cautious, but if you are buying a month or so out, you should be OK. Be sure to pay by Credit Card in any case.

PSM is awefully convenient, and the PanAm quotes are so reasonable when you compare them to anything out of Portland (the "Jetport" ).

Good luck!

 

[Augustheather97]

we have flown with them at least 4 times in teh past....always a good experience...this past march one thing that happened eas our 7:30 am flight was cancelled so we had to leave at 11;30m instead...which for my 6 year old was a better time to wake up anyways.....

 

[darlene walker]

August heather97, was your flight still non-stop? The non stop direct flights are what we like especially around the holiday weeks.
Darlene

 

[tomi]

Hi Darlene, How about Southwest out of Manchester. I just got tickets for $175 apiece for memorial day weekend. We are going again for Thanksgiving and I am waiting for their rates to come out. Right now they are only booking until Sept. 13. The fall rates should be out within a few weeks. Good Luck. Maybe someday we will see you down there! Tomi

 

[winterman]

Several years ago, I was elated that Pan Am came to Bangor (BGR). Flew them twice to Sanford (SFB). Great flights both times. Two years ago, they changed the times north to south from early am to late pm and the same on the return flights. I discovered this, they did not contact me. The flight changes were unacceptable to our travel plans, so I contact them and they offered a refund.
The refund took over 3 weeks to see a credit on my credit card. It took several telephone calls and one letter before they acted. They cited that they were very busy and it took time to process the refund. I believe that the delay was caused by financial weakness and I only hope that financially they are a stronger company today.

You may consider Song. They are having a $62 flight to Orlando from Boston and a $62 return flight for travel by 6-15.

 

[tlcraw4d]

Our last flight with Pan Am was troublesome. We were flying with our four month old and specifically booked a direct flight to minimize the discomfort to our daughter's ears due to take-offs and landings. We got a call the night before that our direct flight was cancelled and now we were booked on a flight with two stops. What a nightmare. The trip was several hours longer which was tough on the baby and not so great on her delicate little ears.
We live in York, Maine and Pease is extremely convenient but we now fly out of Boston for the cheaper flights and no worries about a last minute switcheroo.
You may consider taking the C&J trailways bus from Pease to Logan. Parking is free at the bus terminal and very convenient to Rt 95.

 

[Augustheather97]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------August heather97, was your flight still non-stop? The non stop direct flights are what we like especially around the holiday weeks.
Darlene
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes Darlene it was still a direct flight at least

 

[darlene walker]

We've decided to wait for the SWA rates and go out of mht. With our luck the way it is we would end up getting moved to a 2 stop flight lol... When I called Pan Am to ask about how full the plane on my dates(Thanksgiving week) she said she couldn't tell me because the info was unavailable to her but she did offer us tickets for $249.00 taxes included, which is cheaper than the rates online. I thought I would get some feedback from this board before purchasing them and ask for opinions and I'm glad I did.
Thanks everyone, Darlene

 

[hallesrymat]

I noticed that you're from Gorham-so are we! Where abouts? We're also going in May, the week before the holiday. We can't wait to get away from this miserable weather! We got a direct fligth out of Manchester for $175 also. I have a question for you. Our party will be myself, my husband, our two sons 3 1/2 and 15 mos. both with carseats, and my parents. Do you think they will allow my parents to preboard with us to help us with the kids while we install the carseats? Thanks!

 

[Augustheather97]

Probably they won;t let everyone preboard...but you can save them seats around you easy enough.....we have flown SW many times and they are getting tired I think of whole families trying to pre board

 

[leebee]

Darlene-

I don't think $249 from Pease is such a great rate, although it is at T'giving. I can do better than that on Priceline out of Bangor, last minute, most of the time. Hold on and wait for SWA from MHT, or take Song or Jet Blue from BOS ($25 to change tickets if your plans change, not bad considering the "biggies" are charging $100). C&J is a good alternative to driving into Boston; they'll drop you at your terminal at Logan. My BIL, who lives in York, is a flight attendant for United and often takes C&J from Portsmouth, says it's much nicer/easier than dealing with the traffic. He also says you couldn't pay him to book with PanAm, they're just too financially unstable/unreliable.

 

[juliegirl]

We fly PanAm quite often, I love that it is 10 mins from home in Portsmouth (where I grew up but can not afford to live ). Even with 2 stops (you don't have to switch planes), I use them. I love to read, so the extra time doesn;t bother me. Other carriers, I choose the flight based on can I afford non-stop? And if I can;t, I want a flight with a stop in Charlotte. Call me crazy but I love that airport!