Elite Airways begins new route

HALIFAX - After a bumpy start, Elite Airways’ inaugural non-stop flight from Portland, Maine, to Halifax is set to touch down Thursday. The launch of the new route, aimed at business and leisure travellers, was delayed two weeks due to a glitch with a computer reservation system.

Elite Airways spokeswoman Rebecca Ayers says the debut flight is expected to take off from the Portland International Jetport at 1:15 p.m. and land at Halifax Stanfield International Airport at 3:30 p.m., local time. She says the twice weekly, 75-minute flights on Thursdays and Sundays will be aboard a 50-seat Bombardier CRJ200 jet and cost US$99 one-way.

Ayers says the ticket price is all-in, with no extra fees for flight changes, a first checked bag or onboard snacks and beverages.