Like many regional airlines, Provincetown-Boston Airline (PBA) came from humble beginnings, found success in the rise of air travel, and, in a matter of years, attracted the attention of larger airlines.
What started as a scenic trip over water became a thriving East Coast family business for one Massachusetts man. Here’s the story of Provincetown-Boston Airline.
One Route Paved the Way
Like his father, John C. Van Arsdale had a strong passion for flying. Following his service in World War II, Van Arsdale saw great opportunities for air travel. In 1946, Van Arsdale ran a flight academy known as the Cape Cod Flying Service in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Van Arsdale also founded Provincetown Municipal Airport (PVC) on 31 October 1948, located on the tip of Cape Cod. He would fly Provincetown residents across the bay to Boston Logan Airport while his wife, Betty, booked reservations.
These flights would last 20 to 30 minutes. At the time, traveling on land along the peninsula took five hours.
Demand for these flights among Massachusetts residents skyrocketed, giving Van Arsdale the idea to start his own airline, aptly named the Provincetown-Boston Airline. Van Arsdale joked that he chose the name ‘so I wouldn’t have to tell people where I flew.’
The first aircraft for this new airline was the Cessna T-50 Bobcat, which PBA acquired in 1949. This plane could seat four passengers and one pilot and was known for having adequate cabin space. Four years later, PBA bought Lockheed Model 10 Electras, which could seat up to ten.
In the 1950s, PBA reached interline agreements with a few of the major airlines that operated at Boston’s airport. These agreements allowed connecting flights to and from Provincetown and eliminated the need to recheck passengers’ luggage.
PBA’s Seasonal Dilemma
PBA would close for the winter due to the cold weather in Massachusetts. Though PBA wasn’t suffering from financial setbacks, Van Arsdale still wanted to find ways to keep the airline going all year round.
Van Arsdale traveled to Florida, where he happened to meet Joseph L. Brown, the founder of Naples Airlines. Like PBA, Naples Airlines managed a regional, intrastate route (Naples to Miami) and experienced a lack of work for staff during the summer.
Van Arsdale hatched an idea for an exchange of aircraft and employees between the two airlines. In 1957, the two airlines established a formal agreement: PBA staff would travel to Florida for winter work, and Naples staff would travel to Massachusetts for summer work.
In 1959, Naples Airlines faced significant debt, and Brown put the airline up for sale. Van Arsdale outbid 14 other suitors to acquire the airline.
In the 1960s, demand for the Naples-Miami route reached all-time highs, prompting PBA to acquire a pair of Douglas DC-3s, each capable of seating up to 32 passengers — more than triple the capacity of the Model 10 Electras.
Van Arsdale also saw the need to open additional routes in Florida. On 1 June 1968, PBA opened a Naples-Tampa route.
By 1976, PBA upgraded its planes once more by acquiring 44-seat Martin 4-0-4 aircraft from Southeast Airlines. Van Arsdale cleverly kept smaller aircraft handy in case of periods of lower demand in Florida. This, in turn, saved the airline a lot of money on operational costs.
On 31 December 1979, Van Arsdale retired from PBA, handing leadership roles to two of his sons, John Jr. and Peter. They, along with brother Bill and sister Jean, first worked for the airline as teenagers.
Downward Momentum and Bankruptcy
PBA began expanding its New England and Florida networks in the early 1980s. New destinations included Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Jacksonville, and Key West.
The second half of 1984 turned out to be very pivotal for PBA, in which two fatal crashes occurred. In September, an employee used the wrong type of fuel for the aircraft flying from Naples to Tampa, killing one and injuring five.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ceased PBA operations until December. However, on 6 December, an Embraer Bandeirante carrying 13 people fatally crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all on board.
Due to the loss of interest from these shortcomings, PBA filed for bankruptcy in 1985. PEOPLExpress acquired PBA the following year, but this ownership was short-lived when Continental Airlines bought PEOPLExpress in 1988. Continental would then merge with United decades later.
Although Provincetown-Boston Airline no longer exists, Provincetown Airport continues to thrive thanks to tourism. In partnership with JetBlue through a codeshare agreement, Cape Air operates multiple daily 20-minute flights between Provincetown and Boston on a seasonal basis.
