SeaPort Airlines (Portland International) has been officially awarded an Essential Air Services (EAS) contract for the Californian town of Visalia the US Department of Transportation (DoT) has announced.
Under the terms of the contract, which will run from January 1, 2015, through to December 31, 2016, SeaPort will operate 12 weekly nonstop flights to Oakland International and 12 weekly nonstop flights to Burbank (24 total round trips per week), using a 9-seat Cessna (single turboprop) Grand Caravan 208B, at an annual subsidy rate of USD1,990,563.
Other bids that were submitted came from Wine Country Express (Visalia), Mokulele Airlines (MHO, Kona), Boutique Air (4B, San Francisco), and incumbent operator Great Lakes Airlines (Cheyenne).
