Airlines seeking federal funds for Lancaster Airport propose jets to Chicago, Raleigh, Philadelphia

• By Chris Reber/LNP | LancasterOnline

Chicago, Raleigh and Philadelphia are some of the new destinations being pitched by airlines seeking federal funding for passenger service between Lancaster Airport and larger hubs. The public can weigh in on their proposals through Sept. 17.

Five airlines have submitted bids to the U.S. Department of Transportation for the airport’s next Essential Air Service contract, which will be awarded later this year and begin Jan. 1. Not only is it the largest number of proposals ever received for Lancaster’s EAS contract, it also marks the first time that airlines want to use passenger jets.

The bidders include Southern Airways Express, whose current four-year contract for the service expires at the end of the year, and Breeze Airways, which currently flies passenger jets between Lancaster and Orlando without federal subsidies.

Southern currently flies to Washington Dulles and Pittsburgh using nine-seat, turboprop Cessna planes. The EAS subsidy covers the airline’s losses to the tune of $3 million per year. It has had the contract since 2014 and operates a regional maintenance hub at the airport.

Jets would be faster and hold more people than the current turboprop planes, but the airlines proposing to use them would fly less frequently than Southern’s current schedule, which has 30 round-trip flights per week.

The department isn’t required to choose the lowest bid. Instead, it will look at factors like community input, expected reliability and whether the airline has agreements with major airlines allowing passengers from Lancaster to book connecting flights through their hub airports on a single ticket.

Public comments can be submitted through Sept. 17 via email to venkatesh.paluvai@dot.gov.

In past years, the airport’s EAS contract only drew one or two bidders. Airport officials credit the increased interest to the success of Breeze Airways’ flights from Lancaster to Orlando that started last October, the airport’s first-ever jet airline service. The airport’s free parking, short screening lines, and nearby population have gotten attention from other airlines, according to Ed Foster, executive director of Lancaster Airport.

“I think they’re recognizing we have a large catchment area here, and that’s why we’re seeing more jet service opportunities,” Foster said.

Here are the proposals:

Air Wisconsin would offer 12 round-trip flights per week to either Chicago or Philadelphia, using 50-seat CRJ-200 jets. Philadelphia service would require annual subsidies between $4.3 million and $4.8 million, while Chicago would need $4.9 million to $5.5 million per year.

Breeze Airways wants to fly to Raleigh-Durham using the same 137-seat Airbus A220 jets it uses for its Lancaster-Orlando flights. It’s requesting between $3 million and $5 million per year, depending on whether it flies seven or 12 round trips per week.

Boutique Air would fly to Pittsburgh or Baltimore 30 times per week using eight- or nine-seat Pilatus PC-12 turboprop aircraft. It’s proposing a subsidy between $4.1 and $7 million per year.

SkyWest plans to fly to Chicago 12 times a week using 50-seat CRJ-200 jets. Its proposed subsidies range between $5.1 and $5.6 million per year.

Southern Airways Express would maintain its existing schedule using propeller-driven nine-seat Cessna Grand Caravans, or add flights to Washington and eliminate its Pittsburgh service. It would cost between $3.8 and 5 million per year.