By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
SkyWest was re-selected by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation (USDOT) June 22 to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) at the Hays Regional Airport for another two years beginning Aug. 1, 2016 through July 31, 2018. The annual EAS subsidy from USDOT to SkyWest is $3,482,353.
But city officials are concerned about low passenger numbers that could mean the loss of SkyWest air service in the next contract period.
“We’re extremely happy the Department of Transportation selected SkyWest,” said Hays City Manager Toby Dougherty. “They’re a good carrier. They have good equipment. They’re very reliable, They do a good job and we’ve heard nothing but good things about SkyWest from passengers.”
SkyWest was not meeting its projected number of passengers in the just-completed two year contract and that was reflected in its higher bid to continue as the Hays air carrier.
Two years ago the SkyWest EAS bid for the Hays to Denver round trip route–12 flight a week–was $2.2 million with an estimated 15,000 passengers each year.
According to Dougherty, the actual passenger numbers were well below estimates.
“They were on track to hit 9,500 passengers this year (ending July 31). They were in the 8,000’s last year,” Dougherty said, “and so that is reflected in their bid of $3.4 million to fly the same number of flights back and forth (for the next two years.) I’ve said this many times–the ridership does not reflect the level of convenience and service at this airport.
“The reality is, it costs a lot of money to fly a jet between Hays and Denver twice a day.”
The $3.4 million SkyWest bid could have been a lot higher and it might be next time around.
“It’s a reflection of low oil prices right now. If the low oil prices were in a more normalized range right now, the bid probably would have been a lot higher and I don’t know if DOT could have taken it,” Dougherty said shaking his head.
“It would be nice to see more utilization of the airport. We know it’s not always going to be most affordable option. We know it’s not always going to be the most convenient option. But, in a lot of instances, it is very affordable. It is convenient, ” he said.
City Commissioner James Meier asked Dougherty if it would be a “fair statement to say that in two years, when the city is going through this process again, if oil goes up and our ridership stays the same, we may not even get a bid from SkyWest?”
“We could reach a point where the subsidy amount per passenger could get us out of the program,” Dougherty warned.
There are limits per passenger on the EAS subsidy from USDOT.
Commissioner Meier pointed out that Great Bend was on the list two years ago to receive an EAS subsidy, then was dropped this year. “In the late ’90s, there was another community that was on this list that’s no longer on this list, and that’s Goodland,” noted Meier.
Late last week the Ellis Co. Coalition for Economic Development and the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce began conducting an online survey to get the public’s feedback on their Hays airport usage and experiences.
“We have a two-year window with a great carrier (SkyWest), with good equipment and reliable, dependable service,” Dougherty said emphatically, “and I’m asking the flying public to please check the Hays Regional Airport (at Fly Hays) before you make accommodations somewhere else.”