Southern Airways Express, one of the largest commuter airlines in the country, is upgrading its seasonal schedule to and from the island of Nantucket to year-round service. Daily flights to Nantucket, Massachusetts from New Bedford, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island have been extended through 2022, with weekend flights to and from Norwood being extended as well.

Southern began seasonal flights to Nantucket in 2019 and has expanded its offerings each year since. This year was the first year of service for flights between Nantucket and Bedford/Hanscom, and it marked the first scheduled flights from that airport in almost a decade. The Bedford/Hanscom service will take a winter hiatus after Columbus Day weekend but will return next spring.

“After three seasons of operating flights to Nantucket, it is great that the demand is strong enough to take these routes year-round,” said Stan Little, chairman and CEO of Southern. “Even in our newest market of Bedford, we saw great enthusiasm for our service. Hopefully, after next summer, we will be able to make that route permanent as well.”

Southern has added an off-season focus to cater to dayworkers and off-island connections for Nantucket residents, in addition to its traditional focus on tourists.

“This is perfect for Nantucket residents traveling off-island,” said Mark Cestari, Southern’s chief commercial officer. “Whether island residents are looking for convenient day trips for holiday shopping or they want to connect to a major airline at Providence – with far less hassle than Logan – Southern has proven to be a very affordable and hassle-free option.”

Southern now offers interline partnerships with both American Airlines and United Airlines, providing seamless daily connecting service via Providence to airports nationwide. The interline agreements mean that Nantucket passengers can check their bags through to their final destination when making connections to American and United at Providence. Interlined tickets to United and American are available for purchase at Southern’s own website, iFlySouthern.com, as well as aa.com and united.com.

Southern began in Memphis in 2013 and operates more than 220 daily flights, with operations stretching from Nantucket in the east to Honolulu in the west. Known as one of the most reliable commuter airlines in America, Southern’s controllable completion rate in 2020 was 99.54% of all scheduled flights – among the very top in the industry.