Earlier this month, the US Department of Transportation announced it had chosen Denver Air Connection and its subsidiary, Key Lime Airlines, to take over the Essential Air Service contracts for the airports in Pierre and Watertown come July 1.
Current carrier SkyWest– flying as United Express– has been directed to provide service through June.
Pierre city commissioner Jamie Huizenga says they’re hearing from people worried about a possible decline in service reliability.
Huizenga is feeling more confident in Denver Air’s capabilities after a meeting last week.
Mayor Steve Harding says if the USDOT doesn’t change their decision, Denver Air/Key Lime Airlines will make arrangements with anyone who has already bought tickets to fly in July and beyond.
Denver Air has been providing commercial air service to the Thief River Falls, Minnesota, Airport since last summer. Manager Joe Hedrick encourages Pierre and Watertown to give the company a chance to prove itself saying customer satisfaction has been high and calls their service “rock solid.”
Denver Air will provide 12 weekly flights from Pierre to Denver. Six of those flights will be shared with Watertown. Watertown will get non-stop jet service to Chicago, along with the shared flights to Denver via Pierre.
As the contract holder, the USDOT has the final say in what company serves Essential Air Service communities. When awarded an EAS contract, commercial airlines receive a federal subsidy to make air service affordable to remote communities like Pierre and Watertown.
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