The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded Boutique Air (4B, San Francisco) the Essential Air Service (EAS) contract at Johnstown John Murtha Cambria County, PA, effective November 1, 2018.

The carrier will operate 18x weekly to Pittsburgh International and 12x weekly to Baltimore International. All flights will be onboard 8-seat PC-12s. Boutique Air will receive a USD3.16 million subsidy for the first year of operations and USD3.24 million for the second. The contract is valid through October 31, 2020.

Since November 1, 2016, Johnstown has been served by Southern Airways Express (9X, Memphis International). The carrier currently operates 24 weekly flights to Pittsburgh and 14 to Baltimore at an annual subsidy of USD2.92 million.

During the selection procedure, multiple local community members, including airport manager Thomas Keyes, noted the high rate of cancellations of Southern Airways Express' flights and appealed to the DOT to select a new carrier. Boutique Air was the only other eligible contestant for the EAS contract.