It’s been since late April that the North Central West Virginia Airport has been without a daily air service provider. It was in that month that the airport severed ties with ViaAir, who had been providing daily flights to Baltimore and more-than-weekly service to Charlotte.

 

The contract was severed, airport officials said, due to constant canceling of flights and a huge drop in passengers utilizing the service. Since that time, NCWV Airport Director Rick Rock has been working with the Airport Authority – the airport’s governing body – and a consultant to see if anyone is interested in picking up the service that ViaAir once had.

 

At this afternoon’s Airport Authority meeting, Rock announced that requests for proposals for a new airline to provide daily service to a hub for connecting flights has been sent out. Bids, he said, are due July 6.

 

“That’s a short turnaround,” said Rock.

 

The airlines that will be bidding will do so as part of the FAA’s Essential Air Service (EAS) program. The EAS provides airlines to operate in rural communities such as Bridgeport with millions of dollars in subsidies. ViaAir was awarded more than $2 million to offset losses it would have in the area from the FAA.

 

Now, that money will go to a new airline. Who that airline will be remains to be seen.

 

“We anticipate five to seven airlines to bid on this,” Rock said.

 

Whether one of the major airlines – or one of their subsidiaries – bids remains to be seen. Rock has said in the past that he, along with the airport’s consultant Mike Money of Volaire Aviation Consulting, has met with airlines leading up to the RFP release that was announced today.

 

“The earliest we see daily service going into place is Oct. 1,” Rock told Airport Authority member Ernie VanGilder, who also serves as a member of the Marion County Commission. “That’s the date we plan to resume service.”

 

Ideally, the airport would not only land an airline that offers service to a major hub, but one that has code share agreements with a major airline. That would be a moot point if a major airline bids on the EAS service in Bridgeport or is a subsidiary/affiliate of a major airline.

 

Code sharing allows a passenger to book their flight in Bridgeport and when landing at the hub its connecting flight is already booked. ViaAir, along with every other airline except one that bid last time, did not have a code share. However, that one airline – Silver Airlines – was the previous EAS carrier and had issues with cancelations and on-time flight performance as well.

 

The Authority chose ViaAir due to it going to Baltimore and Charlotte. Although not the ideal situation at the time of the selection, the low-cost fares were thought to be the enticement needed for individuals to book a second flight at the hub that Via flew to in Charlotte or Baltimore. For the first month of ViaAir’s service, it worked as flight numbers picked up and passengers, airport officials said, were pleased with the low fares. Once the flight cancelations began, the cost didn’t matter and passengers simply quit utilizing the service, they said.

 

The Authority re-appointed the same committee to review the bids when they arrive. Those individuals will include Authority President Ron Watson and members Roger Diaz and Robert “Bob” Greer.  

 

More from this meeting later this week on Connect-Bridgeport.