A 140-seat Airbus A220 touched down at Presque Isle International Airport for the first time Tuesday night, making it the largest passenger plane to ever regularly service the airport.
Presque Isle’s once-daily roundtrip flights to Boston will now be exclusively flown on the A220, as JetBlue — the city’s designated air service provider — phases out its fleet of 100-passenger Embraer E190 jets that previously serviced the airport.
“We’re making history,” Airport Director Scott Wardwell said during a tour of the aircraft. “Just think of the impression this airplane makes when somebody is coming into Presque Isle for the first time.”
JetBlue markets the A220 as having the “widest coach seats of any single aisle aircraft.” It’s configured in a 2-3 layout, with one row two seats wide and the other at a three-seat width. The aircraft also features larger overhead bins, bigger windows, redesigned bathrooms and in-seat power to charge devices.
Around 20 onlookers watched through a fence as the plane taxied in around 11 p.m. Tuesday. Among them was Presque Isle City Councilor Craig Green, who blasted Tina Turner’s “The Best” through a giant JBL PartyBox.
“Welcome to Presque Isle, Maine, on the inaugural flight of the A220!” he boomed through a microphone as passengers began to disembark.
“This is kind of a new beginning,” said Green, who is also president of the Presque Isle Air Museum Committee. “Our region is at the point where we’re trying to prove what we can do next. If the public supports this and continues to use it, then they will look at that and probably offer more flights.”
Farther down the fence, Mandy Pelletier stood waiting to watch a family member step onto the boarding ramp. For Pelletier, who is a flight attendant for JetBlue, the new aircraft is a notable switch both personally and professionally.
“It’s exciting,” she said. “It’s a beautiful aircraft.”
The changeover, while a part of a larger JetBlue initiative, is a move city officials hope will carry momentum for the airport, which is set to open a new $38 million terminal in late 2026.
“We’re going to continue [this] impression right into the terminal,” Wardwell said. “That’s what it’s really about. A big part of air service is economic development. Most communities look at attracting an airline very much like attracting a new business or a plant … because [the airport] is like the front door to your community.”
JetBlue became Presque Isle’s air carrier in 2024 on a two-year contract following a recommendation from the City Council to the U.S. Department of Transportation. The decision faced backlash from the community and United Airlines — the airport’s previous carrier — because it required a waiver from the DOT to reduce service below the twice-daily roundtrip requirement under the federal Essential Air Service program.
The program can be lucrative for airlines because they receive per passenger subsidies from the DOT to provide service to smaller communities. Presque Isle is one of 110 eligible Essential Air Service communities, along with Bar Harbor, Rockland and Augusta-Waterville.
The city will next hear airline bids in spring 2026.
