I flew from Canada to France… in less than an hour?
How does that work?
Well, just off the coast of Newfoundland is a small French overseas collectivity called
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.
Despite being just 20 kilometres or so from Canada, these islands are very much a part
of France, and are home to roughly 6,000 people.
The only way to get there by air is with Air Saint-Pierre, a small French airline that
connects the islands with the outside world.
So, after flying across Canada on only Dash 8s, obviously the most sensible choice was
to immediately fly on another turboprop!
With that, good morning from St. John’s International Airport!
This is the busiest airport in Newfoundland and Labrador, and sees service from most major
Canadian airlines.
It’s also a hub for PAL Airlines, which I tried to work into the Dash 8 trip but just
wasn’t able to.
As far as international carriers go, Air Saint-Pierre is pretty much it, and shares a check-in desk
with Porter.
Air Saint-Pierre serves the collectivity with flights to St. John’s, Halifax, Montreal,
and a few seasonal destinations.
They also operate some inter-island flights too, and they even charter a 737 for seasonal
flights to Paris.
As you’d expect though, they only have two planes in the fleet - a single ATR 42-600
for the flights to Canada and a Reims-Cessna F406 for inter-island and medevac flights.
Following the Dash 8 trip, I needed to get myself from St. John’s to Halifax, and while
looking at options, discovered I could actually do that with an overnight in Saint-Pierre.
So that’s exactly what I did!
Besides, who wouldn’t want to fly a domestic route through another country?
The novelty of this meant I just had to do it.
The ATR 42-600 taking us to Saint-Pierre is a very new one and registered as Foxtrot Oscar
Romeo Lima Bravo.
It joined Air Saint-Pierre in late 2020, replacing an older ATR 42-500.
Funny enough, the first time I heard of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon was seeing that older ATR in
Montreal back in 2017.
Since then, it’s been a point of personal curiosity for me and I’ve really wanted
to visit.
I figured a single night wasn’t going to be quite enough to see everything, but it
would still be a fun side trip going someplace completely new!
Before that could happen though, I got a teensy bit concerned that they were headed to a completely
different gate than we were told.
As it turns out, St. John’s doesn’t really have a “swing gate” for the commuter flights,
so they arrive on the international end of the airport and then taxi over to the domestic
Canadian side for the departure.
Once our plane taxied back over, boarding started pretty informally without any announcement,
so good thing I was nearby.
Let’s go check out Air Saint-Pierre!
My seat for today is 3D right at the front, which had an excellent view out the window!
This is actually my first time ever on an ATR, and the legroom is about as expected.
Today’s flight to Saint-Pierre would only take 45 minutes or so, so it’s not too bad.
Pretty soon, we were already starting up, and here’s the departure from St. John’s
off of runway 29!
Like I said before, our flight to Saint-Pierre today would only take about 45 minutes, covering
a total distance of 275 kilometers.
I’m still not over the idea of flying westbound from a Canadian city to reach France.
But, now that we’re airborne, heading to France on a turboprop, let’s take a look
around the ATR.
I lucked out with a free aisle seat, so I had plenty of extra space.
Up at the top is some extra storage space that I guess could be used as a tablet holder.
Below that is the tray table that slides out but rests a bit too low for my knees.
It’s worth mentioning that Air Saint-Pierre is one of those airlines that doesn’t quite
do online check-in, so if you want a window seat on the ATR, it’s best to line up early.
Shortly after takeoff, the single cabin crew member came around with a bottle of water
and cups for everyone.
That was the extent of the service, but given the length of the flight, it seemed fair.
In the seatback pocket, you’ll also find the safety card for the ATR 42-600
and an air sickness bag.
Other than that, the cabin looks very bright and clean, and I gotta say, this plane is
actually really quiet.
Surprisingly, much more so than the Dash 8, as unpatriotic as that sounds.
We had some amazing views below as we followed Newfoundland’s southern coast.
On that note, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon don't follow Newfoundland’s half-hour offset time
zone, and are actually half an hour ahead.
That makes it technically the first place in North America (outside of Greenland) to
celebrate New Years’.
This place just has so many interesting quirks to talk about, and I could not be more excited
to finally go see it for myself.
The views below only got even better as we got closer, so here’s the arrival into Saint-Pierre
landing on runway 26!
Arriving in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, you are obviously entering France, and so that
meant going through customs and getting probably one of the most unique stamps I’ll ever
get on my passport!
At one point, Canadians were supposedly able to enter with just a drivers’ license, but
I wasn’t sure if that was still the case, so it was better to be safe than sorry.
Now, whenever I’m planning a trip, I try to avoid looking at Google Streetview (which
Saint-Pierre does have, by the way) unless I’m looking for something specific.
So needless to say, I was genuinely surprised to get outside and find… actual French cars!
Let’s not forget that we’re just 25 kilometres away from the nearest Canadian town, and you
just don’t see French cars in Canada or the US.
I was not expecting that at all!
Here at Saint-Pierre Airport, Air Saint-Pierre naturally has their maintenance base, in a
fairly large hangar.
Funny enough I could see their ATR 42-500 was still in there but clearly in the process
of being sold.
In addition to that, Saint-Pierre Airport also has a control tower, which, according
to the Canada Flight Supplement, only operates for about 10 hours each day, and even less
on Sundays.
Granted, the airport itself is not that busy, and Air Saint-Pierre is the only scheduled
airline with maybe two to three flights a day.
In addition to the occasional general aviation aircraft or visit from the Canadian Coast
Guard, ASL Airlines France flies in with a 737-700 during the summer months.
They operate once weekly nonstop flights to Paris on behalf of Air Saint-Pierre.
Given there’s only a 5900 foot runway here, that definitely has to be fun to watch!
I would’ve loved to do some plane spotting here, especially with these amazing views.
As it happens though, both my inbound and outbound flights were the only two taking
place while I was here so…
I’d say that’s a good reason to come back!
From the airport, it was only 2 kilometres or so to my hotel so I ended up walking there
and it was well worth it just to stop and take in the view!
Saint-Pierre is the capital of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, and is the larger of the two
municipalities.
As you can see, I lucked out with the weather and got to see everything in some gorgeous
August evening sunlight.
Now you might notice that quite runway-shaped bit of pavement below, and as it happens,
the airport I just landed at was not the original one serving Saint-Pierre.
That one opened in 1999, and replaced this original one which opened in 1965.
A good portion of the runway still exists even as most of the site has been redeveloped.
I’ll take a closer look there, and at the old terminal building a little later tonight.
I eventually found my hotel, which was a pretty new one along the water, also on the site
of the old airport.
It certainly felt very European, and that was made even more clear by the European power
outlets.
Again, so wild to see while I still have a single bar of reception from Canada.
This hotel also had a restaurant, which I was soon told would be the only one open on
the island since it was a Sunday evening.
Needless to say, I made sure to get myself a reservation for later tonight.
So, with a couple hours before sunset, I went to explore downtown Saint-Pierre.
The atmosphere here is undeniably European, and it is quite a contrast to what I’m used
to on this side of the ocean!
There is, undeniably, a ton of history here too.
The islands were first visited by Europeans in the 1500s, and were settled by the late
1600s.
Over the next few centuries, the islands traded hands (often violently) between the French
and the British multiple times , until 1816 when they permanently became a French territory.
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is now the last remaining part of what was New France.
Traditionally, the islands’ economies have been supported by a large fishing industry,
but overfishing and territorial disputes with the Canadian government have since caused
an economic decline.
Subsidized by France, the islands are now looking to diversify through tourism and the
exploration of oil and gas deposits.
Today, in addition to the airport, Saint-Pierre can be accessed by a seasonal ferry that runs
to the town of Fortune in Newfoundland.
Fortune is a town of only 1200 people though, and from there, it’s almost a four hour
drive to St John’s, so you can see why the airport is crucial for medevac flights.
Cars in Saint-Pierre all have French license plates, and thanks to that ferry, it is possible
to see these in some parts of Atlantic Canada.
Also, interestingly, the only sign of any Canadian influence here was the hardware stores.
I definitely did not expect to see a Home Hardware here of all places, but it makes
sense that Canadian construction materials would be much easier to get here than European
ones.
Back on the other side of the harbor, I kept walking and found myself on the old Saint-Pierre
airport runway, which in itself, is kind of odd.
You wouldn’t think an island with 5,000 people would need a brand new airport.
However, while the new airport has 5900’ of runway, the old one only had 4100’, and
you can see it was a bit constrained.
With the extra space, that new airport was able to handle 737s, and the first flight
to Paris took place in 2018.
While most of the runway has been redeveloped at this point, the old terminal and presumably,
the old Air St. Pierre hangar still stand.
Near there was this rocky beach.
The closest Canadian islands were just out of sight from here, but it was a great view
nonetheless.
Honestly, I’m so glad I came here.
It was such a treat to be able to explore this unique piece of France that’s right
in my own backyard…
Relatively speaking.
With that, it was back to the hotel where I had a really nice beef cheek dish for dinner.
One thing I was looking forward to this whole time was the food, and safe to say it did
not disappoint.
Breakfast the next morning was just as good, if not even better, with freshly baked croissants
and jam.
The weather outside was still gorgeous, and with this amazing sunrise, it was time to
say goodbye to Saint-Pierre.
I think the one-night stopover was a great way to experience Saint-Pierre for the first
time, but I definitely want to come back and stay for longer!
It’s not just the novelty of having a piece of Europe so close to North America, but the
fact that it’s a genuinely gorgeous place to visit!
Besides, if there’s one thing Saint-Pierre Airport needs, it’s a plane spotting compilation
that absolutely nobody asked for!
Back at the terminal, the departure process was pretty straightforward.
Before leaving my hotel, I was told there wasn’t any point in getting to the airport
more than an hour before takeoff since there wouldn’t be anybody at the desks, and that
was definitely a good call.
On that note, surprisingly, pretty much everyone I interacted with spoke English, which was
probably for the best that I didn’t have to inflict my middle-school level French on
anyone.
Like I said on the flight here, Air Saint-Pierre doesn’t have an online check-in, so I just
asked for a window seat on the right side of the plane and got seat 1D.
Saint-Pierre Airport feels very nice and open, and seems appropriately sized for the few
flights a day that it gets.
I went through security, passed through customs again, and found myself in this decently sized
waiting area.
Through the unfortunately smudged windows was the very same ATR getting pulled out of
the hangar and onto the ramp.
Soon enough, it was unfortunately time to board and leave this wonderfully unique place behind.
Let’s go to Halifax!
I settled in the very front of the ATR, with some extra knee room in this emergency exit
row and just like the flight here, we were starting up within minutes.
Here’s the departure from Saint-Pierre, off of runway 26.
Saint-Pierre to Halifax covers about 600 kilometres, and is just over an hour and a half in the
air.
Here in the bulkhead row, the seatback pocket contents were the same, just with this extra
safety note included.
On this flight, Air Saint-Pierre offered a slightly wider selection of drinks, and I
had this cup of orange juice.
It makes me wonder if they offer any sort of snacks on their Montreal flights, since
those can be over 3 hours long going westbound.
Air Saint-Pierre’s ATR 42-600 seats 46 passengers in 11 and a half rows.
The single lavatory on this plane is actually pretty cleverly positioned going into the
rear of the plane rather than being along the aisle.
That means a bit more space to move around which is definitely appreciated, with the
exception of headroom.
Pretty soon, Cape Breton Island came into view and this random French adventure was
coming to a close.
So, was it worth it to fly from St. John’s to Halifax through France?
Absolutely.
When it comes to visiting here, the best way is probably a variation of what I did.
Air Saint-Pierre’s Montreal flights can be quite pricey mostly because of the distance,
and the flights from Halifax and St. John’s are more affordable.
This is definitely the sort of place where you should spend a few nights though, for
the experience, and to see everything Saint Pierre and Miquelon have to offer.
From the history, to the food, to the delightfully random nature of visiting a genuine piece
of France 20 kilometres from Canada, this was a trip to remember.
Thank you so much for watching my adventure with Air Saint-Pierre,
and I’ll catch you next time.