heywatchthis
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Mesa Air asked for a $1.3 million subsidy for 18 weekly roundtrip flights to Dallas on 19-seat turboprops.
For providing 12 flights a week, Colgan will be paid an annual subsidy of $510,00 by the Department of Transportation. The federal subsidy Colgan sought for 18 flights was $758,000.
SkyWest currently receives a federal subsidy of $464,869 annually to provide 18 weekly round trip flights to Victoria
Colgan Air has been chosen to provide airline service to Victoria over the next two years - but federal officials on Monday also approved a reduced number of flights to cut government subsidy costs to be paid to the Manassas, Va.,-based airline.
"I'm going home to pout," said Pat Rhodes, manager of Victoria Regional Airport, when asked Tuesday morning how he felt about the airport offering its passengers fewer flights when Colgan begins its Victoria/Houston service on July 1.
"My initial reaction is I'm disappointed, but not surprised."
Rhodes had said last month he rather expected federal officials to approve a reduction to 12 weekly flights, but had hoped the community could successfully lobby for retaining the current 18 flights per week.
It was not to be, despite efforts by County Judge Don Pozzi, Airport Commission Chairman John Roberts and others who lobbied to retain 18 flights weekly.
Offering what amounts to one fewer flight per day will make it more difficult for passengers to make convenient connections to flights departing from Houston's Bush Intercontinental, particularly on shorter trips, Rhodes said.
The fewer flights, he said, will also make it "difficult but not impossible" to reverse the trend of fewer passengers flying out of Victoria - a trend that resulted in Victoria losing non-subsidized airline service two years ago and forced the federal government to step in with subsidies to keep the city's commercial air service alive.
"But we can get by on 12," said Rhodes, who remains optimistic that that the airport can once again rise to the point at which air service is profitable and federal subsidies are unnecessary.
The Department of Transportation, in its Monday order selecting a carrier for Victoria, announced that it had picked Colgan over Mesa Air Group of Phoenix, Ariz., to provide flights under the Essential Air Service program, a federal effort to ensure that residents of smaller cities retain their access to the nation's air transportation system.
The Monday order also contained the Transportation Department's decision to subsidize 12 flights weekly, rather than the 18-flight level now offered by Utah-based SkyWest, the current subsidized carrier.
The reduction will save the federal government $248,000 a year.
For providing 12 flights a week, Colgan will be paid an annual subsidy of $510,00 by the Department of Transportation. The federal subsidy Colgan sought for 18 flights was $758,000.
Mesa Air asked for a $1.3 million subsidy for 18 weekly roundtrip flights to Dallas on 19-seat turboprops. Local officials said last month that the higher subsidy demand made it unlikely that Mesa would be chosen as Victoria's next carrier.
SkyWest currently receives a federal subsidy of $464,869 annually to provide 18 weekly round trip flights to Victoria. SkyWest has been providing service to Victoria since the first round of Essential Air Service bidding, held in 2003 after Houston-based Continental Express announced it would cease its money-losing flights to Victoria.
In its Monday order, the DOT said the Essential Air Service program guarantees only a minimum level of service. Federal officials have determined that minimum level to be 40 to 67 seats per day.
DOT said that 2 round trips daily aboard Colgan's 34-seat Swedish-made Saab 340s turboprops "will fully satisfy that guarantee. Under the circumstances, we cannot justify spending an additional $248,000 annually (for service) that would be entirely beyond Victoria's guaranteed level of service."
Rhodes noted that the feds could have decided to cut service back even further toward the 40-seat-per-day minimum.
Colgan has not yet announced what its daily flight schedule will be under the 12-flight regimen. DOT's order requires that "flights must be well timed and well spaced."
Rhodes guessed the schedule would probably consist of two flights each weekday and then two flights sometime during the weekend.
"I don't know how that's going to shake out," he said. Under an agreement with Houston's Continental Airlines, Colgan - owned and operated by Virginia state Sen. Charles J. Colgan and his family - will fly under the Continental Connection banner.
For providing 12 flights a week, Colgan will be paid an annual subsidy of $510,00 by the Department of Transportation. The federal subsidy Colgan sought for 18 flights was $758,000.
SkyWest currently receives a federal subsidy of $464,869 annually to provide 18 weekly round trip flights to Victoria
Colgan Air has been chosen to provide airline service to Victoria over the next two years - but federal officials on Monday also approved a reduced number of flights to cut government subsidy costs to be paid to the Manassas, Va.,-based airline.
"I'm going home to pout," said Pat Rhodes, manager of Victoria Regional Airport, when asked Tuesday morning how he felt about the airport offering its passengers fewer flights when Colgan begins its Victoria/Houston service on July 1.
"My initial reaction is I'm disappointed, but not surprised."
Rhodes had said last month he rather expected federal officials to approve a reduction to 12 weekly flights, but had hoped the community could successfully lobby for retaining the current 18 flights per week.
It was not to be, despite efforts by County Judge Don Pozzi, Airport Commission Chairman John Roberts and others who lobbied to retain 18 flights weekly.
Offering what amounts to one fewer flight per day will make it more difficult for passengers to make convenient connections to flights departing from Houston's Bush Intercontinental, particularly on shorter trips, Rhodes said.
The fewer flights, he said, will also make it "difficult but not impossible" to reverse the trend of fewer passengers flying out of Victoria - a trend that resulted in Victoria losing non-subsidized airline service two years ago and forced the federal government to step in with subsidies to keep the city's commercial air service alive.
"But we can get by on 12," said Rhodes, who remains optimistic that that the airport can once again rise to the point at which air service is profitable and federal subsidies are unnecessary.
The Department of Transportation, in its Monday order selecting a carrier for Victoria, announced that it had picked Colgan over Mesa Air Group of Phoenix, Ariz., to provide flights under the Essential Air Service program, a federal effort to ensure that residents of smaller cities retain their access to the nation's air transportation system.
The Monday order also contained the Transportation Department's decision to subsidize 12 flights weekly, rather than the 18-flight level now offered by Utah-based SkyWest, the current subsidized carrier.
The reduction will save the federal government $248,000 a year.
For providing 12 flights a week, Colgan will be paid an annual subsidy of $510,00 by the Department of Transportation. The federal subsidy Colgan sought for 18 flights was $758,000.
Mesa Air asked for a $1.3 million subsidy for 18 weekly roundtrip flights to Dallas on 19-seat turboprops. Local officials said last month that the higher subsidy demand made it unlikely that Mesa would be chosen as Victoria's next carrier.
SkyWest currently receives a federal subsidy of $464,869 annually to provide 18 weekly round trip flights to Victoria. SkyWest has been providing service to Victoria since the first round of Essential Air Service bidding, held in 2003 after Houston-based Continental Express announced it would cease its money-losing flights to Victoria.
In its Monday order, the DOT said the Essential Air Service program guarantees only a minimum level of service. Federal officials have determined that minimum level to be 40 to 67 seats per day.
DOT said that 2 round trips daily aboard Colgan's 34-seat Swedish-made Saab 340s turboprops "will fully satisfy that guarantee. Under the circumstances, we cannot justify spending an additional $248,000 annually (for service) that would be entirely beyond Victoria's guaranteed level of service."
Rhodes noted that the feds could have decided to cut service back even further toward the 40-seat-per-day minimum.
Colgan has not yet announced what its daily flight schedule will be under the 12-flight regimen. DOT's order requires that "flights must be well timed and well spaced."
Rhodes guessed the schedule would probably consist of two flights each weekday and then two flights sometime during the weekend.
"I don't know how that's going to shake out," he said. Under an agreement with Houston's Continental Airlines, Colgan - owned and operated by Virginia state Sen. Charles J. Colgan and his family - will fly under the Continental Connection banner.
