Alaska firm eyes air service
Photo courtesy Sen. Snowe’s Office
ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE was the topic of discussion between officials from Alaska-based Peninsula Airways (PenAir) and Sen. Olympia Snowe during a meeting in Washington on Monday. From left are: Snowe, with CEO Danny Seybert and PenAir President Scott Bloomquist. PenAir plans to submit a bid for EAS service to Presque Isle and Bar Harbor next Tuesday.
By Kathy McCarty
PRESQUE ISLE — Officials with Peninsula Airways (PenAir), based in Alaska, have expressed interest in bidding on air service to airports in Presque Isle and Bar Harbor.
U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, a senior member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, met with the potential bidder to provide service to the two Maine sites under the Essential Air Service (EAS) program during a meeting at her Washington, D.C. office on Monday.
In the meeting, PenAir officials indicated they plan to submit a bid to provide service to Presque Isle using a 34-seat Saab 340 aircraft next Tuesday, Dec. 20. Pen Air is also likely to bid on service to Bar Harbor. Meeting with Snowe were PenAir’s CEO, Danny Seybert, and the company’s president, Scott Bloomquist.
“I was encouraged by my meeting with executives of Peninsula Airways. Their interest in providing this critical service in Maine is certainly tremendous news. I will continue to work with the airport manager, officials in Maine and the Department of Transportation as the bidding process continues and am determined to help find a suitable replacement for the County,” said Snowe.
“It is absolutely vital Maine’s rural communities like those surrounding Presque Isle are connected with an air service that is safe, cost-effective and convenient. These flights are a critical link to tourism, recreation and business. For communities more than 200 air nautical miles from a large hub airport, use of at least a 15-passenger aircraft is an essential element in connecting rural communities to the air transportation network,” added Snowe.
Congressman Mike Michaud also had an opportunity to meet with PenAir officials while they were in Washington.
“It was good to meet with an airline that is interested in providing this critical service to Bar Harbor and Presque Isle,” said Michaud, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “Given how important air service is to the local economies, it’s important that the carrier selected by the DOT is able to meet the needs of both communities. Each community has a lot to offer. I am confident they will attract the bids necessary to ensure continued air service.”
Similarities between Maine and Alaska factored into PenAir’s interest in our region.
“PenAir has been in operatioin for 56 years. We operate many different aircraft types, from a five-seater Saratoga to our largest aircraft in the fleet — the Saab 340. As you may expect, we are familiar with winter flight transportation and have several EAS locations in Alaska. We understand winter operations and what goes into being a safe, reliable operator,” said Seybert.
Seybert said company officials have been looking for a way to expand the business for some time now.
“We have been looking for several years now at a way to expand our airline. When we were made aware of potential EAS areas that had already been serviced by Saab aircraft, we became interested in pursuing the opportunity. We believe operating on the East Coast, especially in the acclimate weather conditions found in the winter, using a Saab 340 would be a natural fit for PenAir,” said Seybert.
This will be the company’s “first venture for scheduled service outside of Alaska,” said the company’s CEO.
“However, we do operate charter services throughout the U.S. and Canada. PenAir has also operated chartered services between Florida and the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Honduras in the late ‘90s through 2000,” said Seybert.
Seybert said service would be provided to the Maine airports using a 34-passenger Saab 340.
“PenAir is one of the larger Saab 340 users in the United States. We purchased our first two Saab 340 aircraft in 1997 and currently have a total of 11 in the fleet,” he said.
He said despite being on opposite coasts, similarities exist between the two states and the rural air services needed in both.
“Service to remote regions, whether it is to the North Coast or the East Coast, is essential. Most rural areas throughout Alaska do not have a road system attached. Many of these places have minimal roads within their community, but none that can take them to the larger hubs, like Anchorage. Air transportation is their one and only means to reach these regions,” said Seybert. “It is our philosophy to provide the best service possible, at a price that is affordable for the individual, while encouraging great economic growth and development in these smaller regions.”
Seybert said he isn’t sure — if his company gets the bid — where planes will be based.
“We are still analyzing the routing and specifics of each of these EAS regions while preparing to submit a proposal to the department on the 20th. It is our intention to mirror, at best, routings that have been previously used in each of these regions. We have not determined at this time where our base of operation(s) will be,” said Seybert.
