Review of Air Saint Pierre flight Saint-Pierre → Miquelon in Economy

Have you ever heard of Saint Pierre and Miquelon? It’s located only 25 kms from Newfoundland in Canada but 4300 kms from Paris yet it’s as France as mainland France. Its small population of 6000 is as French as those in Europe. The same French is spoken as in Normandy or Brittany and not like in Quebec. Most houses, about half of the cars and the climate make you think you’re in Canada but you’re not. It’s a unique place that very few people have ever heard of.

Saint Pierre and Miquelon has, as the name suggests, two inhabited islands. Saint Pierre, the main town, and the village of Miquelon, population 600, are located on separate islands. You can take a ferry (crossing time is 1 hour 30 minutes) or you can fly with Air Saint Pierre’s smallest plane. There are about 22 flights a week, flight time is 10 minutes and a return ticket costs only 29 €. The distance between the two airports is 40 km.

Most flight tickets are nowadays booked and paid for on-line but not here. I sent an e-mail to the airline to book; I got the confirmation quickly and I was told to pay at the airport before departure. Where else can you do this?

I took a taxi from my accommodation to the airport (7€). I arrived 45 minutes before my flight and the airport was completely empty.

An agent appeared a couple of minutes later. He had sat down at the check-in desk and started to call all other passengers on the phone and asked them if they were still planning to fly. After he finished calling I told him: “Bonjour, je suis sur le vol de 10h00” (Hi, I’m on the 10 o’clock flight). I didn’t need to give my name or show an ID; he just gave me my boarding pass.

Boarding started at 09.48: we just walked directly from the check-in area to the plane in a few seconds.

The plane is a Cessna F406, registration number F-OSPJ, built in 2001.

You can’t miss the name of the airline as you board.

The plane has 8 passengers seats in 4 rows. All seats are both window and aisle seats.

I had seat 2A (seats are allocated). The view of Saint Pierre airport from my seat.

The safety card.

Engines were started at 9.52. We started to taxi at 9.56 and we took off from runway 26 at 10:00 for a scheduled departure time of 10:00.

Turning back at the end of the runway.

The pilots’ view of the runway.

The view after take-off.

The Atlantic Ocean between Saint Pierre and Langlade.

Approaching Langlade. Miquelon is located on an island which is actually made up of two islands, Miquelon and Langlade that are connected by a tombolo (isthmus).

Miquelon island, also called Grande Miquelon.

Pilots’ view of Miquelon Airport’s runway.

We landed at 10:10 for a scheduled arrival time of 10:15.

Our plane leaving the runway.

Miquelon Airport.

An unusual view of our plane.

Welcome to Miquelon!

Miquelon is a small, isolated village.

I walked from the airport to the harbour in 10 minutes.

The Gendarmerie.

La Poste.

The main square.

A memorial for a pilot who flew countless times to and from Miquelon.

Miquelon Church.

The Harbour.

The Pétanque Championship was the event of the day.

I got back to the airport 20 minutes after I arrived.

Saint Pierre and Miquelon is not a member of the European Union but has access to some funds.

My flight back to Saint Pierre was scheduled at 10:45 but we left about half an hour later. Not a problem at all.

The plane was of course the same for the flight back. It made another rotation during the time I spent in Miquelon.

I was the only passenger. The interior of the cabin seen from my seat 1B:

The pilot’s view before take-off.

We took off at 11.15.

Heading to Saint Pierre.

We flew at 1500 feet at a speed of 230 knots.

Approaching Saint Pierre.

A short time before landing.

We landed at Saint Pierre at 11.26.