Air Choice One (St. Louis Lambert International) has been reselected as the essential air service (EAS) provider at Burlington, IA by the US Department of Transportation (DOT). The airline will receive a USD9.6 million total subsidy for the four-year contract covering flights to each of Chicago O'Hare and St. Louis Lambert International.
The Missouri-based scheduled operator will provide 12x weekly flights to each of Chicago O’Hare and St. Louis Lambert using a nine-seater Cessna (single turboprop) Grand Caravan aircraft. The airline will receive a USD2,439,963 subsidy for each of the first two years of the service and USD2,415,564 for the third and fourth year.
Currently, the airline receives a USD2,316,502 annual subsidy covering twelve weekly flights to each of Chicago O'Hare and St. Louis Lambert.
"Air Choice One has provided the community reliable EAS for several years and the community overwhelmingly supports the airline’s re-selection for a new contract term," the DOT noted in a statement announcing the decision.
According to the ch-aviation capacity module, Air Choice One currently operates 14x weekly flights from Burlington to Chicago, 13x to St. Louis and three to Mason City, thus exceeding the terms of the EAS contract. It is the sole operator at the Iowan airport.
