Essential Air Service at Plattsburgh and Saranac Lake/Lake Placid, NY

Order 2006-7-12
OST-2000-8025 - EAS at Saranac Lake/Lake Placid, NY
OST-2003-14783 - EAS at Plattsburgh, NY

Issued July 10, 2006 | Served July 13, 2006

Order Reselecting Carrier

CommutAir has served Plattsburgh and Saranac Lake/Lake Placid for many years and continues to provide them with reliable essential air service. We find that both the service and subsidy levels are reasonable. CommutAir is fully aware of the relocation of Plattsburgh's airport from the Clinton County Airport to the Plattsburgh International Airport and is preparing to relocate its service. While we acknowledge the communities' concerns, service to Boston does provide access to the National air transportation system. Therefore, we will reselect CommutAir, operating under its code-share agreement with Continental Airlines, to provide three round trips each weekday and each weekend to Boston, for an additional two-year period, from September 1, 2006 through August 31, 2008. At the same time, we encourage the carrier to work with the communities to address their concerns. As set forth in Appendix C, service is to be provided with 19-passenger Beech 1900 aircraft at an annual subsidy of $1,706,755.

By: Michael Reynolds