Martha’s Vineyard is a prime vacation spot for people living in the Northeastern part of the United States.
The destination is an island meaning it is completely isolated from the mainland. There are no bridges to bring car traffic to the island. There are only two ways to access this vacation spot and that’s through the air and sea.
In this guide, we’ll discuss the different flight options passengers have to get to Martha’s Vineyard. We will provide information about the airlines and all their routes that serve Martha’s Vineyard.
Martha’s Vineyard Airport
There are three airports found on Martha’s Vineyard. Martha’s Vineyard Airport is the only one with public access through mainland airlines.
It is a tiny airport. It has only two runways with one capable of handling normal jet aircraft operations. It has a small terminal with two serviceable gates for boarding. The terminal also has baggage claims, a ticket area, and a restaurant. Martha’s Vineyard Airport also has a TSA security screening area.
One unique procedure this airport has to satisfy the higher summer demand associated with Martha’s Vineyard is after a passenger finishes their security screening at TSA, they are then routed to outside tents to wait because the airport doesn’t have sufficient waiting areas for the influx of passengers using the airport.
Here Are The 3 Major U.S Airlines With Nonstop Service to Martha’s Vineyard Airport
As of 2024, there are only three major airlines that have direct flights to Martha’s Vineyard. These flights are seasonal, usually only flown during the summer months. Out of the three majors, only JetBlue Airways provides flights through the main airline operation. American Airlines and Delta Air Lines use their regional brands for service to Martha’s Vineyard.
JetBlue Airways
JetBlue Airways provides several flights to Martha’s Vineyard through some of the larger cities in the Northeast.
For all JetBlue flights to Martha’s Vineyard, expect to fly on the aging Embraer 190. This is the only aircraft capable of using Martha’s Vineyards Airport’s small runway and ground facilities. The aircraft is being replaced by the newer Airbus A220 in 2025, so it’ll be interesting to see if this route by JetBlue stays on the schedule.
New York Metropolitan Area
JetBlue is a New York-based airline so it makes sense that they have most of their flights to the nearby Martha’s Vineyard Airport through New York area airports.
JetBlue flies most of its flights to Martha’s Vineyard through its hub at New York-JFK International Airport. Passengers can find flights offered from May until September. Using JFK Airport is probably best for visitors flying in from all corners of the United States and looking for a connecting flight to Martha’s Vineyard.
As a backup option to JFK Airport, from June to September you can find a daily flight from LaGuardia Airport to Martha’s Vineyard. JetBlue’s presence at LaGuardia is mostly flights to and from Florida. If you’re a Floridian looking for a connecting flight to Martha’s Vineyard, flying with JetBlue at LaGuardia might be a great option.
Finally, if you want to deal with all the headaches and traffic that come with JFK and LaGuardia Airport, you may want to give Westchester County Airport in White Plains some consideration.
Westchester County Airport is found only a few minutes north of the Bronx. It is considered a reliever airport, meaning it receives considerably less air traffic than JFK and LaGuardia.
JetBlue flies out of Westchester County Airport to Martha’s Vineyard daily starting in June and ending in September.
Update (1/21/2024) – JetBlue Airways announced that the airline will be discontinuing service between Westchester and Martha’s Vineyard.
Boston
Another heavily trafficked city for JetBlue is Boston. From Boston, JetBlue customers can find a daily flight from Boston Logan International Airport to Martha’s Vineyard between June and September.
Boston is another good option for passengers looking for a connecting flight to Martha’s Vineyard. With Martha’s Vineyard technically being in Massachusetts, you can expect an even shorter flight time out of Boston compared to New York.
Washington D.C
Washington D.C is the final JetBlue city with a daily flight to Martha’s Vineyard. The route is only flown between June and September. JetBlue Airways flies out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport nestled right across from the National Mall.
Prospective passengers seeking a flight to Martha’s Vineyard can consider Washington D.C to be very similar to flying out of New York LaGuardia. Most of the connection flights to Washington D.C. will be from Florida and Puerto Rico.
American Airlines (American Eagle)
American Airlines uses its regional brand “American Eagle” to conduct its flights to Martha’s Vineyard. Out of the three major airlines that fly to the island, American Eagle provides service from most U.S. cities. Many of these cities are along the eastern coast with the only outlier being Chicago.
Flights are flown on American Eagle’s Embraer 170 & 175 aircraft.
Chicago
American Airlines provides access for people in the Midwest to Martha’s Vineyard by offering a daily flight from Chicago. Chicago O’Hare International Airport is one of American Airlines & American Eagle’s hubs of operation. This is the furthest west city offering a flight to Martha’s Vineyard.
This flight is offered only on Saturdays between June and September. There is most likely sufficient demand for this route considering that Chicago is in the middle of the United States. Many vacation destinations throughout the United States are central to the flight time it takes to get to Martha’s Vineyard.
However, for passengers from the west looking to vacation at Martha’s Vineyard, Chicago is a great place to find a connection if you’re looking to break up a long flight to the east coast.
New York
Between June and September, American Airlines schedules a daily flight to Martha’s Vineyard from LaGuardia Airport. American experiences competition for both Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways on this route to Martha’s Vineyard Airport.
American looks to give up some of the New York market share on this route by not offering a flight from JFK Airport. JFK and LaGuardia Airport are both hubs for American Airlines. However, it appears that the bulk of American’s domestic connections fly into LaGuardia airport instead of JFK Airport. At JFK, the bulk of American’s flight offerings are international, and flights between American hubs spread throughout the United States.
Philadelphia
Philadelphia International Airport is a larger hub for American Airlines than New York-JFK, however, they do have a seasonal flight to Martha’s Vineyard offered on weekends between June and September.
Both American Airlines and American Eagle offer a plethora of connections via Philadelphia making this airport an excellent option for passengers looking to connect to Martha’s Vineyard. With a flight time of minutes longer than a flight from LaGuardia Airport, Philadelphia makes for a terrific option for passengers who don’t want to deal with the hassle of flying into LaGuardia Airport.
Washington DC
Washington D.C is another departure city where American experience competition from JetBlue on a flight to Martha’s Vineyard. For American, the flight offering is seasonal between June and September. Just like JetBlue, American flies this route daily during this time frame.
Flying into Washington National can be a logistical nightmare for airlines and create many headaches for passengers. However, in contrast to JetBlue Airways flying out of Washington, American Airlines and American Eagle have quite a significant presence at this airport. That means catching a connection in Washington DC to Martha Vineyard for anywhere along the east coast shouldn’t be much of an issue.
Charlotte
Another unique location that American flies to Martha’s Vineyard from is Charlotte, North Carolina. Between June and August, passengers can find an American flight from Charlotte International Airport once weekly on the weekends.
Charlotte is a major hub for American and offers plenty of connections from destinations throughout the United States and internationally. For those specifically coming in from the South, Charlotte is a great place for you to find a connection to Martha’s Vineyard to break a lengthy flight to Philadelphia or New York – LaGuardia into a shorter one.
Delta Air Lines (Delta Connection)
When you compare Delta Air Lines to both American Airlines and JetBlue Airways regarding service to Martha’s Vineyard, Delta will come in dead last in terms of accessibility. They only have flights to the vacation spot from New York.
The airline uses its regional brand called Delta Connection for flights to Martha’s Vineyard.
New York
Delta Air Line’s only flight offering to Martha’s Vineyard is via New York-JFK Airport and LaGuardia Airport. Both of these flight options are seasonal, offered between May and September each year. The flight is scheduled as a daily flight.
Delta’s lack of investment in Martha’s Vineyard is understandable. Martha’s Vineyard Airport can only handle so much competition. Delta probably thought Martha’s Vineyard wasn’t worth the allocation of resources and time considering that Delta had a presence at just about every major American city and airport.
Having JetBlue and American Airlines battle it out for a route that may not be as profitable year-round, may open up other opportunities elsewhere for Delta where a greater net profit can be earned per flight.
Smaller Regional & Charter Airlines With Service to Martha’s Vineyard
Besides the major airlines that fly into Martha’s Vineyard Airport, there are some smaller regional operations that passengers can choose from. These options are mostly local to the New York – New England Area. Some of these considerations only offer service to the island via paid charter.
Cape Air
Cape Air is a small regional airline based in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The bulk of their destinations are found in the northeast near the New England states. Cape Air does provide scheduled daily passenger service to Martha’s Vineyard from Boston Logan International Airport. They also have seasonal flights from New York – JFK Airport, Hyannis, New Bedford, and Nantucket.
If you want some quick facts about Cape Air, view our guide about this airline here.
Nantucket Airlines
Nantucket Airlines is a sister airline to Cape Air. They provide flights to Martha’s Vineyard from Barnstable, Massachusetts, and Nantucket, Massachusetts.
Reliant Air
Reliant Air offers charter flights to Martha’s Vineyard from its Danbury, Connecticut base of operations. It has a fleet of Cessna Citations that get customers to where they need to be in comfort and style.
Tradewind Aviation
Tradewind Aviation is a small airline based out of White Plains, New York that offers charter and scheduled passenger flights. They offer flights to Martha’s Vineyard from Westchester Country Airport in White Plains and Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. Scheduled flights to Martha’s Vineyard begin in May and are flown 3 to 4 times a week.
Sources
https://www.flightconnections.com/route-map-jetblue-b6
https://www.flightconnections.com/route-map-american-airlines-aa
https://www.flightconnections.com/route-map-delta-dl
https://www.flightconnections.com/route-map-tradewind-aviation-tj
