SkyWest Airlines (OO, St. George Municipal) will maintain its Essential Air Service (EAS) regional jet flights on the Aberdeen Regional and Bemidji to Minneapolis St. Paul International routes from March 1, 2020, the US Department for Transportation (DOT) said in late January. Its existing EAS agreements on the two sectors end on February 29.
The SkyWest services will again be flown 14x weekly by its CRJ200 fleet operated in cooperation with Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) as Delta Connection. The two-year contract to Aberdeen in South Dakota will attract an annual subsidy of USD1,298,572 - USD91,223 less than that awarded previously. For Bemidji, the annual subsidy will be USD1,344,499 over the two-year agreement - USD34,815 more than the previous annual subsidy. The regional carrier was the only operator to submit a proposal for both city pairs.
In terms of community comments received by the DOT, Lynn Lander, City Manager for the City of Aberdeen wrote that the residents of Aberdeen have enjoyed SkyWest’s quality air service, “well-timed” schedules, and access to Delta’s network. The airline has served the community since 2011 and the Aberdeen Regional Airport Board said that there had been steady growth in traffic on the route, which it attributes to SkyWest's use of a regional jet and the schedule.
The Bemidji Regional Airport Authority’s Chairman and Executive Director, the Beltrami County Administrator, and the City of Bemidji’s Mayor and City Manager co-signed a letter expressing that Bemidji has been, on the whole, “very satisfied” with SkyWest’s service.
SkyWest currently operates a fleet of 181 CRJ200ER and LR 50-seat jets. Its total fleet, all regional jets, now numbers close to 500 units. Skywest also flies on behalf of United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare), Alaska Airlines (AS, Seattle Tacoma International), and American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth).
