Apr. 9 -- Troy Leatherman may have made history Sunday morning at the Watertown International Airport.

He was bumped from a flight.

A few hours after the Easter Bunny hopped out of the area on his last rounds, a new era in north country air service hopped off the runway at the airport. Mr. Leatherman was inside, awaiting the next flight.

It was the first day Big Sky Airlines began offering a Delta connection service linking Ogdensburg, Massena and Watertown with Albany and Boston. In Boston, 110 flights to 33 destinations await flyers.

Big Sky Airlines, Billings, Mont., is receiving a federal subsidy to provide service to the three north country airports for the next two years. On Sunday, it replaced Mesa Air Group, which flew passengers to the US Airways hub in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Mr. Leatherman, of Richmond, Va., flew to Massena a few days ago for business on a US Airways airplane. He wasn't too upset to learn that when his plane landed in Watertown on Sunday morning, he had to exit and wait until 9:40 to catch the next flight to Boston. The Beechcraft 1900D, with 19 passengers, would be full.

"I booked late," he said as he poured himself a complimentary cup of coffee provided by Big Sky for passengers and eyed a stacked snack machine for breakfast considerations.

Those who booked earlier found flying out of Watertown convenient.

Robert O'Neil of Chaumont is a senior systems technical representative with the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command. His final destination was Corpus Christi, Texas, for AMCOM temporary duty. Seeing him off was his wife, Sandra, and granddaughter.

"It's a lot more convenient flying out closer to home than driving to Syracuse," Mr. O'Neil said. "An added benefit is that I get the first flight out of Boston to Houston."

Flying out of Watertown also makes it easier for his family, Mr. O'Neil said. "You don't have to worry about your wife driving back from Syracuse," he said.

Kris C. Sullivan and his girlfriend, Kristin A. McCully, both of Oneida, had thought they'd be flying out of Syracuse on Sunday on their way to Florida. But when they checked fares on the Internet, they found flying out of Watertown was cheaper.

Big Sky is offering a $99 introductory fare to Boston and Albany.

Mr. Sullivan, a guidance counselor at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Central School District, and his girlfriend, a kindergarten teacher in the district, were visiting his parents in Burrville and dropping their dog off with them.

"It's $100 cheaper here than Syracuse, which surprised us," Mr. Sullivan said. But he admitted being a little nervous when he found out that Sunday morning's flight was the inaugural run for the airline out of Watertown.

"It's a good thing I took my Dramamine," he joked, referring to the motion sickness drug.

But the upcoming ride on the twin propeller-driven plane didn't bother Walker E. Lin, a recruiter with the Fort Drum Recruiting Co., which consists of regular Army and reserve recruiters. Mr. Lin is a former Ranger who has flown in the cargo hold of C-130 transport planes.

"I fly once a month at least," the Virginia Beach, Va., resident said. "I find it's less stressful than driving all the way to Syracuse."

But Mr. Lin noted he's flown with Mesa out of the airport many times, and flights seldom left on time.

It was no different Sunday. His flight, scheduled to leave at 7:20 a.m., climbed into the gray, snowy skies at 8:15 a.m.

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