PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – United Airlines officials want the U.S. Department of Transportation to reconsider having JetBlue serve as the Presque Isle airport’s new carrier.
The DOT announced on June 4 that it had chosen JetBlue as Presque Isle International Airport’s Essential Air Services carrier for two years. JetBlue would begin service Sept. 1 and replace United, which has served as the northern Maine airport’s carrier for six years with flights to Newark, New Jersey. JetBlue promised to bring larger jets and connections to Boston.
United requested Monday that the DOT rescind its decision, claiming that federal leaders gave unfair weight to city officials’ preference for JetBlue and did not consider potential negative effects on local passengers.
Presque Isle is one of four areas in Maine that falls under the DOT’s Essential Air Service, ensuring at least minimal air service to smaller regions through federal subsidies. The other areas are Bar Harbor, Rockland and Augusta.
The Department bases decisions on local opinion, airline reliability, connections to a network of destinations, interline agreements with other airlines and marketing.
Basic Essential Air Service rules say that the program must provide at least two daily round trips six days a week for an airport outside of Alaska.
United has provided 12 flights per week to Newark International Airport with a 50-seat CRJ-550 jet plane.
JetBlue would offer one round-trip flight per day to Boston’s Logan International Airport on a 100-seat Embraer E-190 in its first year. The company would switch to a 140-seat Airbus A220-300 jet the following year.
Presque Isle city councilors requested that the DOT grant a waiver to allow JetBlue’s seven-weekly-flight option, which the Department approved.
But that waiver was “unreasonable,” given that the DOT had other bids to consider from airlines that already met basic air service requirements, said Mark L. Warren, legal counsel for United Airlines.
Warren argued that if JetBlue was indeed a serious contender, the Department should have considered whether Presque Isle would qualify for the Alternative Essential Air Service program, designed for small airports that want service that goes beyond basic air service requirements.
“Though the City Council did request this waiver, it was nevertheless capricious for the Department to grant it, as there were multiple proposals which met the [weekly flight] frequency requirement,” Warren said.
Presque Isle City Manager Tyler Brown was not immediately available for comment Thursday.
Airport Director Scott Wardwell said he could not speak in favor nor against a particular airline, since the Department of Transportation has the final say in any Essential Air Service contract.
“This really is an issue between United and the DOT,” Wardwell said. “My job is to gather the bids [for Essential Air Service] and let the city council and [airport advisory] committee make their recommendations.”
City councilors voted 5-to-1 in May to recommend JetBlue, citing many residents’ preference for flights to Boston. This went against the city’s Airport Advisory Council’s recommendation to stick with United.
United took issue with the DOT placing more weight on city councilors’ feedback than others, including the advisory committee and members of the public.
While public opinion expressed at council meetings varied, 108 of the 157 official comments made to the DOT were in favor of United, while 47 were in favor of JetBlue, Warren stated.
The DOT’s decision does not consider the negative effects of decreasing the number of daily flights under JetBlue’s proposal, Warren said.
JetBlue’s daily flights from Presque Isle will depart at 5:45 a.m. and return from Boston around 10:10 p.m., according to a press release from JetBlue.
Though JetBlue’s anticipated federal subsidies – $10,412,703 in the first year and $11,235,581 in year two – would be less than United’s yearly subsidy of $13,121,304, more frequent service from United outweighs cost savings to the federal government, Warren argued.
Officials from JetBlue did not respond to specific concerns raised by United.
“JetBlue is grateful to DOT for selecting us to provide Essential Air Service at Presque Isle,” said Derek Dombrowski, a JetBlue spokesperson. “Our flights to Boston and beyond begin September 5 and tickets are already on sale. We look forward to becoming part of the Northern Maine community.”
