Island Airlines

Ghost Corp Apparel — resurrecting iconic corporate ghosts.

Island Airlines was the small Cape Cod commuter carrier that made Hyannis-to-Nantucket hopping feel less like a grand expedition and more like catching a very determined aerial bus. Based at Barnstable Municipal Airport in Hyannis, Massachusetts, it scheduled frequent short flights across Nantucket Sound under the motto “Nantucket’s Community Airline.”

The operation’s roots reached back to 1930, when Milton “Red” Hersberger began island air transport as Erie Isle Airways. It later became Sky Tours; Hersberger sold it in 1953, it changed hands again in 1973, and William McGrath’s ownership adopted the Island Airlines name in 1991.

Alongside passenger flights, Island ran Cape & Islands Air Freight, moving cargo among Hyannis, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and New Bedford, while Ocean Wings handled private charters. The fleet was a practical island toolkit: Cessna 208 Caravans for commuter work, with Cessna 402s and other aircraft for charter duty.

Our Island Airlines collection celebrates the pint-size planes, salt-air schedules and stubbornly useful connection between Cape Cod and Nantucket. Operations ended abruptly on December 11, 2015, taking the airline and its freight division out of service—but leaving behind a wonderfully specific New England aviation ghost.