A Silver Airways plane maneuvers on the runway at the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport.
WILLIAMSTOWN, W.Va. — With the U.S. Department of Transportation yet to sign off on ViaAir as the Essential Air Service provider for the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport, the company’s planned Oct. 1 start date could be delayed.
“I think there’s a chance, but after this week, you’re pushing it,” airport manager Jeff McDougle told members of the Wood County Airport Authority during their regular monthly meeting Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for the DOT said Tuesday that “we hope an order will be issued on that soon.”
The Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport Authority, the airport’s marketing arm, voted in June to recommend Via’s bid to provide flights to Charlotte Douglas International Airport under the federally subsidized program. Silver, which did not bid on the service, has offered flights between the airport and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport for four years and Washington Dulles International Airport the last two.
Airport officials have blamed a decrease in enplanement numbers over the last couple of years on numerous delays and cancellations by Silver. Part of Via’s appeal was its positive service record at Raleigh County Memorial Airport, where the company had one cancellation in 18 months.
“We’re getting calls every day: ‘When can I buy tickets on Via?'” McDougle said.
In addition to service to Charlotte, Via is expected to offer flights there that continue on to destinations including Orlando, St. Augustine, Fla., and Myrtle Beach, S.C.
The declining enplanements pushed the airport over the $200-per-seat subsidy cap, an Essential Air Service rule that had not been enforced before this year.
The airport has received notice of EAS termination because of the violation, but it has until Sept. 28 to respond and petition for a waiver, Caitlin Harvey, with the Secretary of Transportation’s Office of Public Affairs, said by email.
With no petition, the subsidy for the local airport and 21 others would be terminated as of Dec. 31. If a petition is submitted, service will continue while it is reviewed.
McDougle has said federal officials understand the airport’s plight and reiterated Tuesday that he expects a waiver to be granted.
Via, which cannot comment on the new service until it receives DOT approval, is ready to move in, McDougle said.
“They can flip the switch today. … They’re ready to sell tickets,” he said. “Via has hired a local manager, a local mechanic, three people to work the counter and flight attendants.”
Part of the delay is due to Greenbrier Valley Airport’s subsidy request being larger than those of the local airport and their Beckley and Clarksburg counterparts, whose bids were tied together. Greenbrier Valley is now being considered separately under traditional EAS, while the others are seeking alternate EAS approval.
That means the airport receives the subsidy funds and pays the airline, rather than the DOT doing it. That gives the airports more flexibility in scheduling flights, McDougle said.
McDougle noted Silver is continuing to sell tickets for flights into and out of the local airport beyond Oct. 1. There is no prohibition against this, he said, especially since the changeover date has not been finalized.
“We just have to educate the public,” authority member Terry Moore said.
McDougle said people who purchase tickets for flights that don’t happen because of the change in service can receive refunds. Using a credit card to buy the tickets will make that process easier, he said.
Enplanements remained under 400 in August, the seventh month in eight this year that threshold has not been crossed. The 359 total were 38 more than August 2015. Two flights were canceled due to operational issues, while one was called off for mechanical reasons.
“People are still showing up. I’m amazed,” McDougle said.
In other business, McDougle said the taxiway rehabilitation project is wrapping up, although there are a few punch list items for the contractor to complete, including correcting areas where rainwater was ponding.
“The project came in about $100,000 over the original grant. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) is favorably inclined to include that” in its payment, McDougle said. “At the end of the day, the project’s about $3.1 million.”
The overrun was due in part to weather-related delays and problems with the sub-base material beneath the existing asphalt in one location, he said.
As the airport’s master plan is poised to be updated, McDougle said he’s received inquiries from two different parties about possibly building new hangars at the facility. In addition, there is interest in purchasing the former National Guard facility that has been closed for three years since the Civil Air Patrol moved out.
McDougle said it would be premature to identify the interested parties at this point.
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