Essential Air Service at Beckley and Bluefield/Princeton, West Virginia

Order 2006-5-8
OST-1997-2761

Issued May 11, 2006 | Served May 16, 2006

Order Requesting Proposals - Bookmarked

By Orders 2004-6-14 and 2004-7-20, the Department selected Colgan Air d/b/a US Airways Express to provide subsidized essential air service at Beckley and Bluefield/Princeton for the two-year period through July 31, 206, by operating 12 non-stop or one-stop trips a week to Washington's Dulles International Airport plus 6 to Columbus with 19-seat Beech 1900 aircraft at a subsidy of $2,017,064 annually. Later, by Order 2005-5-16, the Department approved Colgan's request to operate all of the communities' services - i.e. all 18 round trips a week - to Dulles, at a slightly reduced subsidy of $1,955,715 annually.

As the end of the current rate term approaches, we will seek proposals with or without subsidy requests, from carriers interested in providing replacement service at Beckley and Bluefield/Princeton.

With respect to Beckley and Bluefield/Princeton specifically, we request proposals consisting of service, at a minimum, with two-pilot, twin-engine aircraft containing at least 15 passenger seats, and offering 18 round trips a week to Dulles, Charlotte, Pittsburgh, or any other suitable hub.

By: Michael Reynolds