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QUINCY (WGEM) — Cape Air’s new Tecnam P2012 Traveller planes that were slated to begin service out of Quincy Regional Airport in January will not be ready in time, according to the company.
Trish Lorino, Vice President of Marketing & Public Relations at Cape Air, told WGEM News on Friday that Cape Air will be using the Cessna 402 until the Tecnam planes are ready.
“The delay can be attributed to the required validation of operational procedures and policies, typical for a newly certified aircraft,” Lorino said.
Lorino said that Cape Air expects the Tecnam planes to start service in early March.
City officials told WGEM’s newsgathering partners at the Herald-Whig that a software issue was to blame for the delay.
Quincy Regional Airport Director Sandra Shore told the Herald-Whig the software issue was a snag in the certification process and that certification delays are expected whenever an airline brings new aircraft into the market.
“When you are one of the first airports in the country, but also the world, to have this airplane, then you know that there is going to be a long and rigorous testing process before the aircraft is put into use,” Shore said. “This doesn’t concern me at all.”
The Whig reports the announcement comes days after Shore told members of the Aeronautics Committee that the Tecnam planes would be here.
“Quincy will be the second city in the country to have these new planes,” Shore said at the Dec. 12 meeting.
In October, the Department of Transportation announced that the Cape Air service would be returning to Quincy in January, replacing SkyWest.
Cape Air had previously serviced Quincy using the Cessna 402 planes.
Lorino said Cape Air did not anticipate the delay when proposing Quincy service last summer.
Travel House of Quincy president Mecki Kosin lobbied for Cape Air’s return to Quincy.
Kosin said she knew from the beginning there was a possibility the new planes would not be ready, but she thinks the new planes will be worth the wait.
“The cabin is going to be more roomy, it’s not going to be as cramped as the old ones,” Kosin said. “It’s going to be taller and wider as I understand it.”
Cape Air was awarded the Essential Air Service contract in Quincy over three other airlines, Boutique Air, Air Choice One and SkyWest Airlines.
Cape Air will take over from SkyWest at the Quincy Airport on January 8.
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