Corporate Flight Management (Smyrna) has been awarded the Alternate Essential Air Service (AEAS) contract for the community of Macon Regional, Georgia, USA, following a new call for proposals in September 2015. Corporate Flight Management will run a 12x weekly service to Washington Dulles using a 30-seat Jetstream 41. The flights will operate via its subsidiary Contour Airlines (LF, Tupelo).
The AEAS is a modified version of the standard EAS, which allows a community more flexibility in choosing a carrier for essential transport services. The total value of the contract is USD4,687,979 per year for a term of two years. Corporate Flight Management currently serves EAS contracts in Tupelo, Manistee, and Victoria, TX using its own Contour Airlines as well as operating on behalf of Public Charters (P1, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International) virtual carriers North Country Sky (4P, Manistee) and Texas Sky (Victoria, TX).
Other tenders for the contract were received from American Aviation Group, Aviation Street, and Raven Air (Marco Island), none of which were found to have sufficient authority from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or Department of Transportation (DOT) to provide the required services.
According to the Macon news site The Telegraph, previous EAS services in the area have suffered from poor uptake and frequent delays. Corporate Flight Management is hopeful that an aggressive marketing campaign will ensure the new service's survival. Macon airport is worth about USD200 million to the local economy, and airport manager Erick D'Leon says he is looking forward to welcoming Corporate Flight Management to the mix.
The decision still needs to go before the Macon Bibb County Commission on January 17.
