Jul. 28--Community members and business leaders across Greater Johnstown can weigh in until Aug. 7 on which airline should serve as the Johnstown-Cambria County Airport's next Essential Air Service provider, U.S. Department of Transportation officials said Monday.
Following a 2019 calendar year that saw passenger numbers grow, the regional airport has four hopefuls, including its incumbent, seeking to serve the area as its commercial air carrier. Most of them are proposing contracts that could shift flights to hubs such as Chicago's O'Hare Airport, Washington-Dulles, New York City or Philadelphia International.
The U.S. Department of Transportation will make the final call after reviewing recommendations and contracts sometime after the deadline, U.S. Department of Transportation spokeswoman Caitlin Harvey said.
Among the field:
Boutique Air
San Francisco-based Boutique has served Johnstown since late 2018 under a $3.16 million federally subsidized contract, enabling the carrier to offer 30 flights a week to and from Pittsburgh International Airport and Baltimore-Washington International as low as $29 and $49, respectively.
According to their latest proposal, Boutique is proposing another 30 flights a week subsidized schedule on its executive-style, eight-seat planes at $3.4 million -- while also introducing the option of substituting some of its BWI or Pittsburgh flights for routes to and from an unnamed New York airport.
The carrier added five additional weekend flights a week on its own dime over the past year -- while the airport saw its passenger totals climb to approximately 12,600, the highest in nearly a decade.
Boutique proposed two- and four-year deals.
Southern Airways
Southern was Johnstown airport's previous carrier until 2018 and is proposing the same number of weekly flights to Pittsburgh and Washington at just under $2.3 million -- and also proposed flights to Philadelphia International as an option that would take its subsidy to more than $2.5 million.
Voicing concerns about low completion rates, airplane issues and an overall decline in passengers, Johnstown airport officials voted against bringing the regional carrier back two years ago.
Southern continues to serve DuBois and Blair County Airport near Altoona, although the latter voted last month to recommend Boutique as their next carrier after annual flights failed to climb above 7,400 a year.
SkyWest
Utah-based SkyWest carried 43 million people to destinations across the nation in 2019 -- 10 million more than better-known carriers such as Spirit Airlines.
Regarded as the nation's largest regional carrier, SkyWest serves Delta, United, American and Alaska Airlines under interline partnerships by carrying passengers to those airlines' busiest hubs and hundreds of other cities, its website shows.
As proposed, Johnstown flights would carry passengers to and from Chicago O'Hare International and Washington-Dulles in Virginia under the United Express banner with seat prices averaging $89 per ticket.
Both airports are among the nation's largest, with O'Hare seeing nearly 40 million travelers annually. SkyWest would rely on 50-seat CJR200 planes for Johnstown that would staff a flight attendant, its proposal shows.
Unlike the other three carriers, SkyWest's proposal only calls for 12 flights to and from Johnstown a week on its planes, which offer more seats per trip.
SkyWest proposed a three-year contract at more than $3.4 million.
Cape Air
Based in Massachusetts, Cape Air serves airports primarily in New England, Montana and the Caribbean. The airline has interline agreements allowing it to serve legacy airlines, including United, American, Delta and JetBlue on its nine-seat planes.
Cape Air is proposing 30 combined flights a week to and from Johnstown's current destinations -- Pittsburgh and BWI at $32 and $59 through a four-year, $2.9 million yearly deal.
The airline is committing to spend $60,000 a year on marketing its flights through Johnstown, while the three other carriers have committed to $20,000 to $25,000.
Next steps
Cambria County Airport officials are planning to meet with company officials from each of the airlines on Thursday before holding a special meeting to make their recommendation next week.
"This is probably going to be the most important decision we've made as a board ... it's going to affect the long-term viability of this airport one way or another," board Chairman Jim Loncella said last week.
Much like the Johnstown-Cambria County Airport Authority's own choice, recommendation letters by the community are due by Aug. 7 and can be submitted to the department by emailing [email protected], U.S Department of Transportation officials said Monday.
While the authority's recommendation carries significant weight, the Department of Transportation makes the final call on which carrier should serve the area.
That includes the contract length, Harvey said.
"Ultimately, it is the department's decision to set the length of the contract, based on the carrier's proposal," she said.
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