Spotify director buys midcoast flight service
A seasonal resident of Matinicus Island who works within the tech business has purchased Penobscot Island Air, the midcoast firm that gives flights and different air providers within the area, with plans to develop the operation within the coming years.
Sean Creeley, who has a background in tech startups and now works as a product director for Spotify, bought the corporate from Teresa Waters. Waters’ husband Kevin first purchased the operation in 2004 and died three years in the past.
Creeley additionally bought a sister firm, Katahdin Air, that was owned by Waters and affords seasonal sightseeing excursions, seaplane rides and transportation for campers within the Katahdin area.
The acquisition was within the works for a number of months and took impact Nov. 1, though Waters will stay concerned with the corporate in the course of the transition.
Penobscot Island Air, which relies out of Owls Head and flies out of Knox County Regional Airport, is a vital lifeline for the island communities off the midcoast. It affords year-round flights for passengers, freight, mail and medical provides. It additionally gives some charters and sightseeing flights.
In an interview, Creeley stated he had been utilizing Penobscot Island Air’s providers to get to his summer season dwelling on Matinicus — a small island about 20 miles off the coast of Rockland that’s solely accessible by boat or airplane — and determined to purchase the corporate when he discovered Waters was seeking to retire.
“Airplanes are cool. Any 8-year-old boy will let you know that,” Creeley stated. “I acquired concerned as principally virtually a guide to a different provide that didn’t materialize, after which acquired so enthusiastic about it that I used to be like ‘That is enjoyable, this may be cool, that is nice.’ I need to have the ability to get to my f—ing home, which is all the time good to have the ability to do. It’s such little enterprise.”
Creeley is now seeking to broaden the corporate by hiring a basic supervisor and making its providers extra accessible by way of know-how. He stated loads of operations are at the moment finished by hand, the place he thinks know-how might make them simpler. And he’s contemplating the potential for electrical, autonomous plane to finish some deliveries.
“With any change, there’s some worry of the unknown. My spouse and I like these islands, and we’re dedicated to creating the airline work for a few years to return,” Creeley stated.
Creeley and Waters declined to share how a lot he paid for the enterprise.
Waters stated that she’s “very excited concerning the transition” and the prospect of the enterprise rising beneath Creeley. The air service at the moment employs 27 folks, and by the tip of the yr, it’s meant to maneuver right into a model new hangar that Kevin Waters designed.
“It’s what Kevin began, and Kevin’s coronary heart was within the flying and the air service. And it’s going to proceed on, which is what I wished,” Waters stated.
Jules Walkup is a Report for America corps member. Extra assist for this reporting is offered by BDN readers.
