It’s been more than a month since the North Central West Virginia Airport has had a daily flight service provider through the FAA’s Essential Air Service program. At last week’s Benedum Airport Authority meeting, Airport Director Rick Rock said he hopes that will change soon.

 

It was in late April that Rock announced that ViaAir was officially told to terminate flights under EAS, which is a federally subsidized program that helps lure daily service providers to rural communities. ViaAir was given $2 million under the program to provide flights to hubs in Baltimore as well as Charlotte.

 

When the service went from great the first month to bad and then to completely unreliable, the Authority – the airport’s governing body – agreed to have Rock tell ViaAir they had failed to live up to their contract and were terminated. While that issue hasn’t been met with much public dismay, the process of finding a replacement lingers.

 

“We’re still actively recruiting new carriers,” said Rock.

 

Rock told member of the Authority last week that the recruiting includes “the varsity.” The varsity would include companies like Delta, American and United or brands that serve under them. It should be noted that many of those same companies were recruited during the EAS process that saw ViaAir bid on – and win – the service. None of the major carriers bid on flying and out of Bridgeport.

 

While Rock was mum on who he and Consultant Mike Mooney is negotiating with on behalf of the airport, he did drop the name of one airline that contact the NCWV Airport. Rock said Ultimate Jet Charters has shown an interest in providing service to the airport.

 

As the name suggests, the company based in Green, Ohio, specializes in charter services. However, Rock said there have been discussions.

 

“They did reach out to us and we’re looking at who can provide service, any type of service, out of Bridgeport,” said Rock. “Maybe something can be worked out for less-than-daily service, like we had with the Via Charlotte market. We were really happy with the amount of traffic we saw from there and maybe whether it’s this group or someone else, we can make a flight to Charlotte a supplement to whatever agreement we reach.”

 

Rock said it’s always a good thing when an airline reaches out to this area. He said it shows there’s companies that see the potential here.

 

“(Ultimate Jet Charters) could provide the daily service because they are Part 121 (which means they can serve as a scheduled air carrier), but that doesn’t mean they will,” said Rock.

 

Rock said Ultimate does have operations among Charlotte and others. He also said, as the name suggests, the company uses jets as opposed to turbo prop planes.

 

“They could fit in, but they just recently came up in discussion,” said Rock, who said he still hopes to have announcement on a new carrier in the weeks ahead. “Nothing is certain at this point.”