After more than a year and a half in limbo, the question of which airline will serve the subsidized Scottsbluff-Denver route has been settled – at least for the next 3 years.
      The Western Nebraska Regional Airport Authority board has approved a new 3-year Essential Air Service contract with SkyWest Airlines, which has been the EAS carrier for nearly 6 years, flying under the United Express name.
SkyWest announced in March of last year that it would stop service to 29 airports in 90 days because of a lack of pilots, but the federal Dept of Transportation ordered the airline to continue its service until a new agreement was reached.
SkyWest proposed an alternative 3 months later of having its charter arm take over the Scottsbluff- Denver route, but the DOT never approved the idea despite months of negotiations.
Western Nebraska Regional Airport Director Raul Aguallo says the new 3-year agreement, which goes into effect January 1st, is essentially the same as the old one except for the subsidy going up.
The SkyWest bid package projected an annual operating cost of $6.7-million dollars and yearly revenue of $2.3-million, leaving an EAS subsidy of almost $5-million per year for a minimum of 12-flights per week. The average fare is estimated at $95.
Aguallo says travelers shouldn’t notice any significant changes, although he’s still hoping the airline will soon be able to overnight a plane in Scottsbluff and bring back its 6 am flight to Denver
Aguallo says SkyWest wants to make the change, but lacks the pilots to be able to do, with airline officials telling him they’re actually losing money by not being able to overnight in Scottsbluff.