Cape Girardeau City Council accepts airport board's recommendation of Massachusetts carrier

Cape Air, the Massachusetts-based airline that is promising $50 fares and four flights daily to St. Louis, is the preferred carrier to operate from Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, the city council decided Tuesday.

In a special meeting called in order to have a recommendation ready by a federal deadline, the council accepted the selection of the Airport Advisory Board without dissent. The deadline, originally today, has been pushed back to next Wednesday at the request of two cities grouped with Cape Girardeau in the bidding process.

Cape Air beat out four other carriers seeking Cape Girardeau's business. All five companies promised to rebuild the passenger service that has almost disappeared in the 2 1/2 years since RegionsAir was forced to ground its airplanes due to safety issues.

Cape Air stood out over other competitors on a variety of issues, Robbie Rollins, chairman of the advisory board, told the council. The fare and frequency of flights make sense compared to other options for going to St. Louis to catch a flight, he said. The company's commitment to customer service -- it was the only airline that promised to spare no effort to make sure no passenger is stranded overnight in St. Louis for any reason -- added to the board's confidence, he said.

The company's ability to begin service Nov. 1 by reassigning airplanes from markets that lose business in the winter was another plus, Rollins said.

And while the company's name, Cape Air, refers to its primary business in the Northeast, was "an added bonus," Rollins said. "What more could we ask for? On behalf of the board, I think it is the best decision we could make and we are proud of it." The advisory board and council actions are recommendations to the U.S. Department of Transportation, which will make the final selection. The federal transportation agency provides subsidies to small airlines to fly passengers from smaller cities like Cape Girardeau to major airports under the Essential Air Service program.

The current Cape Girardeau carrier, Great Lakes Airlines, has been unable to build a strong following. Its fares are as much as $199 each way to St. Louis, and it flies two flights a day under a contract that calls for three flights. Great Lakes has averaged about two passengers daily this year, compared to 22 for RegionsAir in 2006.

The Department of Transportation does not have to agree to the local recommendation. So far, Marion-Herrin, Ill., with service from Williamson County Regional Airport, has also recommended Cape Air. But the other four locations grouped with Cape Girardeau -- Burlington, Iowa, Decatur, Ill., Quincy, Ill., and Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. -- are either still negotiating with carriers for a better deal or waiting to reveal their preference.

Burlington and Decatur, for example, asked for the extension because they want a carrier to fly passengers to Chicago rather than St. Louis.

Airport manager Bruce Loy said he supports the recommendation because other carriers bidding for the contract -- Gulfstream International Airlines and Locair, both of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., SeaPort Airlines of Portland, Ore., and Air Choice One of Farmington, Mo., -- all had strikes against their bids that made their offers less attractive.

The bottom line, Loy said, was "there are too many what-ifs" in the other bids.

As they discussed the recommendation, council members focused on the lack of passengers using the airport and the commitment Cape Air has to rebuild the service.

"We have probably hit rock-bottom from an Essential Air Service perspective," Mayor Jay Knudtson said. "But I see you as excited as you have been."

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, Cape Girardeau, MO