Long Island MacArthur Gets Another Airline

Photo: Americasroof

Two months after National Airlines announced it will start flying out of New York’s MacArthur Airport in Islip, another airline has committed to Long Island.  

Elite Airways, which serves cities throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America, will fly three nonstop routes from Islip to Myrtle Beach, SC; Portland, ME; and Melbourne, FL, beginning June 17.  
 
Elite president John Pearsall made the announcement at a press conference in Islip last week, saying the airline was “very proud to finally bring service here to MacArthur” and that new destinations will be added “as we get more and more familiar with the market.” 

Elite will offer one-way flights to Melbourne for $149, to Myrtle Beach for $139, and to Portland for $99. The flights will operate on Fridays and Sundays, though the Myrtle Beach service will be seasonal. 

Pearsall also said Elite will offer a connection to Bar Harbor, ME, on its Portland service and, eventually, a connection to Saint Croix on its Melbourne route, giving fliers connections to five different cities from Islip. 

All flights are now open for booking.  

With the additions of Elite and National, Islip will have a total of four carriers. While both are small, they could help bring a resurgence to Long Island’s hometown airport, located 50 miles east of Manhattan. 

National, which will offer between MacArthur Airport and two Puerto Rican airports, was initially supposed to start service out of Islip starting later this summer, but moved its launch up a month to June 1 because of high customer demand.  

Other airlines to operate daily, direct flights from Islip are Southwest, which flies to Baltimore, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa, and West Palm Beach, and American Airlines’ regional branch American Eagle, which flies to Philadelphia. ?