PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – The request for proposals for air carrier Service to Presque Isle International Airport under the Essential Air Service Program were released on Feb. 11. The EAS program, created in 1978 after the deregulation of airlines, is a federal initiative that provides subsidies to airlines to ensure small, rural communities maintain scheduled, reliable air service to major hubs. It currently supports over 175 communities.
Bids are due to the US Department of Transportation by 11:59 p.m. on March 18. The bids can be reviewed online beginning March 19 at www.regulations.com. Once copies of all of the proposals have been made available to the City of Presque Isle, the city will post the proposals to the city website and Facebook page for public viewing. The public may then submit questions and comments directly to the US Department of Transportation by email to michael.f.martin@dot.gov or by mail to Michael Martin, US Department of Transportation, X53, Room 6401, 400 7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20590.
Not all major airlines participate in the Essential Air Service Program. For instance, Delta and United do not participate and American only participates in limited ways.
While Presque Isle has input, it is the US Department of Transportation that makes the final decision. The USDOT has a list of five criteria by which they judge the proposals with priority given from 1 to 5 as follows: reliability of the airline, network connectivity, interline agreements, community input and marketing.
The Airport Advisory Board will meet at 3 p.m. on Monday, March 23 in the Airport Conference Room to review the bids. While the meeting is open to the public, there will be no public comment and no vote will be taken.
A joint session of Presque Isle City Council and the Airport Advisory Committee will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25 in City Council Chambers. This meeting will be open to the public. Airlines who submitted a bid will be allowed to give a presentation if they so desire. The air service consultant will not be present, but will provide an analysis. Public comment and questions will be allowed following the presentations. Following the presentations, the council and Airport Advisory Committee will deliberate. Within two business days of this joint session, the airport director and city manager will draft a letter of recommendation to the USDOT reflecting the recommendation of city council (and any waivers that may have been adopted by council).
