Airlines into the Houlton/Littleton area?? (Portland, Bangor: car rental, real estate, 2010)

[Lektrikgold]

Hello,
I have been trying to find an airlines, OR airlines that fly into the Houlton, Maine area. I am TOTALLY ignorant of the country, so I have no idea where to start my search for an airport/airlines connection.
I am interested in moving from Boise Idaho to the Maine area, and would like some idea how I might make airline connections. I have tried most airline links, but none seems to be able to get me where I need to go.
HELP!

Thanks for any help you may provide!

Lektrikgold

[Elcarim]

I found this link - not sure how up to date it is, but it should be easy to check out.

Maine.Info - Maine Airports

Combine that with Mapquest and you should be able to find the info you need.

[Coaster]

There is passenger service into Presque Isle, which is about 30-40 minutes north of Houlton. It's a small airport, and flights are limited. (Sort of like flying out of Owls Head or Trenton.) Houlton has an airport, but it does not support commercial passenger service.

[ExAirForce]

Advice from someone that grew up and moved away from Houlton but still has gone back every year or two since leaving. We used to fly into Presque Isle but due to the very limited flight schedule have found it much easier to fly into Bangor, rent a car at the airport (no rentals at Presque Isle last I knew) and drive the just under two hours north to Houlton. The drive is nice and easy and on un-congested, in very good shape interstate 95. The car rental places are right in the Bangor airport and getting from the airport to the interstate is extremely easy and low stress. If you are looking for a place to stay in Houlton for a bit I would highly recommend Ivey's motel. We had to call and make the reservation versus booking online but they are right off the interstate in Houlton (on the way to Littleton) and the rooms are nice, big, and clean. The staff is pleasant as well. There are two other hotels/motels in Houlton but please trust me when I recommend this motel over the other two. One has had two massive fires in the last 20 odd years and the other is off the beaten path and just had a murder there a while back.

[ExAirForce]

Oh and if you decide to take my advice, don't drive the interstate at night as the moose strikes on the interstate have been up this year. The big difference on seeing moose versus deer at night is that deer are shorter and your headlights will reflect in their eyes. Moose are taller and have dark eyes and you won't see them until it is too late. This year has been bad so we stayed at a hotel in Bangor a few weeks back as we flew in from Germany and got to Bangor late enough to where we would have been making the drive up in the dark. Safe in daylight hours.

[Bydand]

There are car rentals in Presque Isle. Right in the airport itself, but it is best to call ahead and make your reservations to be sure somebody will actually be there. No joke.

I will second the advice to fly into Bangor (BGR) and drive the 115 miles to Houlton because the difference in ticket prices can be huge, and it is a nice drive up the Interstate. The vehicle/moose accidents are way up so far this year and what the previous poster forgot to mention is the simple fact that the moose being taller, means the body of the moose comes right over your hood and into your windshield. Picture hitting a cow on stilts and you can see why it can be so bad.

[Lektrikgold]

Hello,

I am getting some GOOD information here, and appreciate each response.

ExAirForce, if I am not mistaken, Bangor has a large military airbase there.
Since I am retired military as well, I suppose I could fly space-a there, which would be a good thing.

I am looking for a quiet place to purchase, that has plenty of elbow room, and privacy. I am really tired of the craziness of city life, and hearing the renters doing what renters often do best, irritate the folks next door. Our town used to be a sleepy logging town, now it is nuts with computer manufacturers, etc, and it has been a realtors dream for almost 20 years, and no end in sight.

What attracted me to the Littleton/Houlton area, was the almost zero growth, almost no building permits issued for new construction etc, I suppose that could be bad in some ways, but good in others. I am so weary of the land/property speculators coming in from California, and the Californians coming in with their big pocket books, and very POOR manners, and bad driving habits.

I think it would be a real culture shock for me, but perhaps not, as I lived in a little hamlet in Minniesota when I was a kid, learned how to talk like the Sveeds dere. Very cold in the winters, and when the temperature came back down to minus 20 degrees from minus 50 degress, we took our coats off, since we thought summer was almost here.

I lived next to a small lake, enjoyed the winter lake more than the summer lake, as I could help the guys harvest ice to be used in railcars, so that dates me a little. They used horses back then to pull the heavy icehouses out onto the 4 foot or so thick ice. Ah, the memories!

Lektrikgold

[ExAirForce]

Thanks Bydand for setting me straight on the car rentals availability in Presque Isle. It has been a number of years since I flew into there so wasn't sure. Lektrikgold we know exactly what you are saying and feeling. I graduated from Houlton in 1984 and have traveled the word in the Air Force. We bought land in Florida a number of years back, thinking that would be where we finally settled down but with family still in Houlton and Maine, we are back quite often and just this year's visit made up our mind that we will when we leave Germany in 2009/2010 we will be settling down in Maine. Finacially it would be cheaper to live in Florida but the saying of "Maine - The Way Life Ought To Be" is more true than ever. I couldn't wait to fly the coop and get out and see the world but now I miss all of it. I was just in Houlton two weeks ago and it has not changed very much over the last 23 years. Yes Walmart is there and Ames is now Mardens but an easy pace of small town America. If you are looking for a house, the two main realty office in Houlton are Mooers Realty and First Choice Real Estate not in any preferential order.

Bangor has the refueling wing right next to the commercial airport. It is small not large and from what I remember pretty much a Guard Base. Flying spacea is an interesting idea and I don't know what they have for flights if any. I am actually flying back to Portland ME in a couple of weeks for a couple weeks of an IT class and plan to head up to Bangor on the weekend in between to meet with family/friends and look at property so if you need me to stop by the base and find out holler before I go and I can check for you.

[Coaster]

ExAirForce is right about the military at Bangor. I'm doubtful that there's much chance of getting in flying space-a, but it won't hurt to try.

Houlton is an intriguing little town, and every time I visit I think it's the sort of place I could settle in very easily. Down here below the Volvo Line it's getting more like North Massachusetts each day.

Wasn't there a small college there at one time?

[Acadianlion]

The wing at Bangor is the 101st Air Refueling Wing, Maine Air National Guard. The airport in Bangor is the former Dow Air Force Base that has been closed since the 1950s and is now a commercial airport. Space A might be possible, but I sincerely doubt that flights come in that would have space A openings except on a very rare occurence.

One other correction that I need to make regarding flying in and out of Trenton. There are four "real" passenger airports in Maine. They are Bangor, Trenton, Augusta and Portland. Owls Head may be a "real" passenger airport now, too. By "real Passenger Airport", I mean an airport that has regularly scheduled, year round, all weather passenger service. The four airports mentioned...and maybe Owls Head (Rockland) by now, too....have an instrument landing system that enables departures and arrivals in all weather.

So the advice about flying to Bangor to get to Arrostook County is spot on: there is no dependable air service into the County at this point since weather can shut down any scheduled flight, particularly if there is no ILS at the destination/departure airport.

From Bangor, Trenton, Augusta and Rockland or Portland you can get a flight that will take you to Boston, and from Portland and Bangor, flights are available to all sorts of other destinations.