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Although the public comment period is still ongoing, sources are
indicating that the U.S. Department of Transportation is leaning
toward splitting the Adirondack Regional and Plattsburgh
International airports into separate Essential Air Service
contracts.
If
split, the two municipally owned airports would be free to accept
bids from different airlines.
The
town of Harrietstown owns Adirondack Regional while Plattsburgh
International belongs to Clinton County.
James
Langley is Chairman of the Clinton County Board of Legislators.
“All
I know is that at this point, Saranac Lake is going to get what they
want, which is Cape Air, complete with about $1.4 million in
subsidies,” Langley said.
Clinton County officials are considering accepting a bid from Colgan
Air, a subsidiary of the Memphis-based Pinnacle Airlines.
They
argue that the 34-passenger Saab turboprops used by Colgan will
allow the airport to grow and offer more significant regional
economic impacts.
Cape
Air has held the joint EAS for the two airports for nearly a decade,
but typically only operates smaller nine-passenger planes.
Harrietstown officials and Saranac Lake business organizations are
staunchly supporting Cape Air, and have been pushing for a split
federal contract for several weeks.
Both
airlines offer regular service to Logan International Airport in
Boston and have promised to keep the price of a one-way ticket at
around $100.
Last
week, Harrietstown Supervisor Larry Miller said that he was told
that Colgan’s pricing was contingent on servicing both airports and
would likely go up if Adirondack Regional was not included.
But
according to Colgan Air spokesman Joe Williams, ticket prices have
nothing to do with a specific EAS contract.
“The
split between Plattsburg and Saranac, with the remaining bid just
focused on Plattsburg, will not impact ticket pricing,” Williams
said. “EAS bids are constructed with overall airfares in mind,
so the average ticket price we have established is the average
fare from Plattsburg to the entire US Airways network.”
DOT
spokesman Bill Mosley said that no final decision has been made, as
the public comment period is open until December 31.
The
federal EAS program is meant to incentivise the use of rural,
regional airports by subsidizing some of a carrier’s cost.
-Jon Alexander, 12-17-09 |