Great Lakes interested in providing Columbia flights

COLUMBIA — Great Lakes Aviation of Wyoming has indicated it is interested not only in taking over the essential air service contract for Columbia that is being abandoned by Mesa Air Group but also in eventually providing flights to cities other than St. Louis or Kansas City.

The deadline for airlines to bid on that contract with the U.S. Department of Transportation is next Friday. Great Lakes competed with Mesa for the contract in 2006 and now says it remains interested in Columbia.

“We are very interested in providing service to the Columbia Regional Airport and are likely to submit a proposal,” Great Lakes spokeswoman Monica Taylor said.

Great Lakes serves 44 markets. It also has been awarded essential air service contracts but has yet to begin service in Montana, California, Nevada, Tennessee and Kentucky cities, along with Cape Girardeau.

Taylor touted Great Lakes as a very reliable air service that tries to become part of the communities it serves.

“We come in on the marketing side and sponsor chamber events, do donations and really try to fit into the community,” Taylor said. “We are currently the largest essential air service carrier in the nation and a great airline.”

Mesa Air Group, which has provided flights to and from Columbia Regional Airport since October 2006, announced in late January that it would end its service on April 20 as long as another airline takes over. Mesa receives a federal subsidy of $598,751. It began by providing flights to both St. Louis and Kansas City, but last summer decided to fly only to and from Kansas City. It has also nearly tripled its ticket prices.

Meanwhile, passenger numbers have remained at low levels and city officials have openly wondered whether there’s any point in providing regular flights to cities that are so close to Columbia.

Taylor said Great Lakes would be flexible about the idea of flying to other cities. In most cases, however, it enters contracts “as is,” meaning it picks up where previous carriers left off. If a community wants to go to other cities, however, the company will consider it.

“We are more likely to go to places that already have hubs,” Taylor said. “But if we don’t have hubs we will definitely look into it for future service.”

City Manager Bill Watkins has repeatedly expressed interest in expanding its flight locations.

“We are working with the best consultants in the industry trying to set up business plans to various hubs that would be plausible — for instance, Chicago and Dallas-Fort Worth airports,” he said.

Increasing the number of flight destinations from Columbia not only would add convenience for passengers flying to larger cities, it would also boost the city economically, Watkins said.

“I strongly believe that if we were to become focused on high technology and compete we would (have to) be much more accessible by air,” said Watkins. “Kansas City and St. Louis flights are place-holders to keep infrastructure here and available air flights.”