Penobscot Island Air

04/22/2026

An update.

We have received word from the USPS that they will pay about 25% of their balance on Friday. Considering the pace at which USPS generally moves, our contract officer pulled off a small miracle to make it happen. We have a framework for going forward, and there’s enough clarity for us to work with. We’ll be back in the morning delivering mail.

We want to thank you for your support. We heard from the offices of Senator King, Senator Collins, Congressman Golden, and from Congresswoman Pingree directly. All are working on a congressional inquiry to help us be made whole.

Thank you to the news outlets that amplified our cause. You could have seen Bo on three different Maine nightly news stations at 6 or read of our plight in countless other media outlets. We do believe this is the system working.

Truely, we have been trying to deal with this on our own for too long and should have turned to the community sooner. We are proud to support the islands and call Knox County our home.

Back to work, we have a road ahead of us, but we feel more confident in the outcome.

04/21/2026

An unconventional update.

Over the last year Penobscot Island Air has had payment issues with the United States Post Office. Currently, we are owed roughly $388,000 for delivering mail as far back as 2023, and we haven’t been paid for a single delivery in 2026. While the USPS made some good-faith payments early this year to pay down its balance, we haven’t received a payment since March 13th.

While our mission is to support the islands, PIA employees need a paycheck. We can’t operate as a business if almost a fifth of our yearly revenue is tied up in the bureaucracy of the United States government.

We have to make a small stand, so we won’t be delivering USPS mail today.

It’s been 75 days this year alone that we have dutifully loaded up USPS mail and ferried or flown it out to the islands. It’s no secret that winter is our slow period, and without prompt payments, cash flow is bleak.

We did our best to resolve this situation by other means, and we do not take this step lightly. PIA has spent countless hours in meetings with the USPS financial department and our local counterparts in Rockland. For a period, stopping by or calling daily, begging anyone to fill out the proper paperwork.

We notified the USPS, the island postmasters, and the town administrators last night. The latter two groups have been exceedingly gracious in offering help to escalate our cause. We hope we can resolve this situation quickly, as we value our partnership with the USPS and the islands.

We know you rely on the mail for critical packages such as medications. We have no intention of dragging this out and will go back to work without payment if we must. What’s happening isn't normal or okay. We’ve just run out of other avenues to show the USPS we can’t continue operating this way.

A small ask if you could. If this affects you, could you let the Rockland Post Office know? Their number is 207-596-6461.

UPS and FedEx deliveries will operate on normal schedules today, and we will update you all on what tomorrow brings.

03/24/2026

Spring is near, summer is coming.

Not to jinx it, but summer is just around the corner. As we gear up for our busy season, here's an update on the fleet, software, and services we are taking into the 2026 high season.

03/02/2026

Post-blizzard, you are probably planning your summer vacation. Well, good news, we published the water taxi schedule for the summer: https://www.flypenobscot.com/boat

As always, dependent on the weather. We reserve the right to fly you if the weather is clear and we only have two people on the boat. If you don’t like planes, tell dispatch, so they can make a note.

We have a strong stable of captains to run the boat this summer, so we will be more open to charters.

This is our opening volley at dates. As the boat fills up or we get more charters, we will open up more scheduled times.

Reliable ferry service to Penobscot Bay islands aboard the Robin R. Scheduled passenger service and custom charters connecting Journey's End Marina, North Haven, Vinalhaven, Matinicus, and more.

12/22/2025

Are you ready for Santa?! 🎅🏼
Reminder; we are closed on Christmas Day and we will be closing at noon on Christmas Eve

11/10/2025

A shorter update as we head into the winter. We are getting into the laundry business:

A few operational updates as we head into the winter.

10/12/2025

Sunday Funday is coming out between 2:30 and 3 before the wind really picks up. Will update this post if anything changes.

10/05/2025

Sunday Funday deliveries are scheduled to arrive between 4:30pm and 5pm. We are giving a little more buffer today, as the grocery pickup isn't until 3pm.

Send a message to learn more

09/28/2025

As days get shorter, today's Sunday Funday flights will be taking off at 4:00pm

09/24/2025

Robin R scheduled for Thursday 9/25
Depart Journey's End @ 12:30 pm
Depart Matinicus @ 2:00 pm