Nova Scotia’s taxpayer-supported ferry service to Maine will soon face new competition from a new airline service.

Elite Airways is looking to tap into what it calls an underserved market. Beginning June 30, the small airline will offer one hour direct flights between Halifax and Portland, Maine on Sundays and Thursdays year-round.

The 55 minute flight is being billed as an alternative to the five and a half hour ride on the CAT ferry, which lands in Yarmouth.

“There's quite an amount of business and personal travel between Halifax and Portland,” says Elite Airways president John Pearsall.

Numbers taken from the websites of both Bay Ferries and Elite Airways indicate a round-trip for a single passenger with Elite costs at least $450. A round-trip for one person and a vehicle on the CAT is $587.

Some are wondering if the flights to Portland could affect ferry traffic, but the ferry operator seems unfazed, saying taxpayers shouldn't worry about competition for the government-subsidized ferry.

“To us, the more people moving between northeastern U.S. and Nova Scotia, the better,” says Bay Ferries CEO Mark MacDonald.

MacDonald says ticket sales for the CAT are much better this year than 2016, when passenger totals were less than 60 per cent of government targets.

Business professor Ed McHugh thinks a direct flight option will likely affect Bay Ferries business going forward.

“We live in a very time-pressured society these days, so add in the component of time, I think it's a good move for this airline to test it out,” says McHugh.

McHugh also says the CAT has a lot to prove because of the controversial 10 year deal the province of Nova Scotia signed with Bay Ferries in 2016. The first two years will cost taxpayers nearly $33 million. This year's operating subsidy is pegged at $9.4 million.

“Unless they have the upswing this year in 2017, I’m not sure there will be the political appetite, or the business appetite, or the taxpayer appetite, in Nova Scotia for this to continue,” says McHugh.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Sarah Ritchie.