The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has selected Great Lakes Airlines (Cheyenne) to provide Essential Air Service (EAS) flights from Salina, Kansas to Denver International, Colorado following SeaPort Airlines (2008)' abrupt withdrawal last month.

Under the terms of its contract, Great Lakes will operate the route 12x weekly using an E120 beginning April 1, 2016 and running through to March 31, 2018. The annual subsidy specified is USD1,999,905.

Other proposals submitted included: -ADI Aerodynamics (Pontiac Oakland County International) - which had offered two options, both serving Denver with twelve one-stop round trip flights per week using E145 aircraft for a two-year term. Option 1 proposed a Salina-McCook-Denver routing for an annual subsidy of USD2,645,461, contingent on ADI being selected to provide EAS at McCook. Option 2 proposed a Salina-Kearney-Denver routing for an annual subsidy of USD2,547,804, contingent on ADI being selected to provide EAS at Kearney. ADI noted in its proposal that their service would be marketed as “SeaPort Airlines (2008) operated by ADI.” ADI is SeaPort Airlines' sister carrier.

According to the DOT, Salina municipality sided with Great Lakes' proposal given its convenience as well as existing codeshare and interline agreements with mainstream US carriers.

“The preference for Great Lakes’ proposal is based on the fact that Denver flights can begin on or before April 1, 2016, without any contingencies," it said. "Another key factor is the fact that Great lakes has an existing codeshare with United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare) and interline agreements with American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth) and Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson).”

Airport management says improvements to the passenger screening and seating areas at the M.J. Kennedy Air Terminal are underway in order to better accommodate the upcoming Denver flights.