Pueblo has more of a choice than any EAS market with six airlines proposing service.
A Breeze A220 in Phoenix (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
The Essential Air Service (EAS) program is getting more interesting with the introduction of new airlines trying to snap up these EAS contracts like Breeze and JetBlue, the latter of which has won a contract. Plus, the recently passed FAA Reauthorization Act limits EAS flights in the lower 48 to 650 miles or less also threw a snag in some of the recent proposals, most notably Sun Country’s flights out of Eau Claire.
But, it is very rare to get so many proposals for a single city. There have been a few instances where five airlines have submitted proposals, but as far as we know, this is the first time a city has seen six, giving them many options.
According to Ishrion Aviation on Twitter/X, the airlines that have submitted proposals for Pueblo, Colo. include Advanced Air, Boutique Air, Breeze, Key Lime Air/Denver Air Connection, SkyWest, and the current operator at the airport Southern Airways Express.
This airline is proposing flights using its nine-passenger King Air 350. Flights would operate to Albuquerque 17 times a week, and Phoenix Sky Harbor seven times a week, or the airline could do all 24-weekly flights just to Albuquerque.
Up until this point, the airline didn’t offer any interline or baggage agreements, but the proposal states it has “executed an interline agreement with Alaska Airlines which we expect to have fully implemented later this year.” That is positive news, although Alaska doesn’t have a hub at either city it plans on serving.
An Advanced Air King Air 350 at Phoenix Sky Harbor (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
For a mix of Phoenix and Albuquerque, the subsidy would be between $7,247,990 and $8,879,099 depending on what year. For just Albuquerque service, the subsidy required would be between $6,468,470 and $7,924,154 depending on the year.
Boutique Air is proposing either 24 or 28 weekly flights to Denver, all of which would be on its eight-seat Pilatus PC-12s. The subsidy would be between $4,388,664 and $5,538,342Â depending on the year and how many frequencies to Denver.
A Boutique Air PC-12 in Merced, Calif. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
Boutique does offer interline with both American and United, the latter of which would be really helpful in Denver as it serves as a large hub for the airline.
This proposal is for flights to Phoenix Sky Harbor and also Las Vegas. Notably, Las Vegas does follow the new rule stating that no EAS route may go over 650 miles and sits at roughly 607 miles. Flights would on board the Airbus A220-300 which seats 137 passengers and is by far the largest aircraft offered in a proposal for this city.
Breeze does offer a small hub at both cities, but it does not offer many connecting flights in its system.
A Breeze A220 aircraft (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
While the cities are the same, they do offer two options; Option 1 is six times weekly to both hubs, and Option 2 is four times weekly to Phoenix and three times weekly to Las Vegas. The subsidy per year for Option 1 is $11,907,343 while the subsidy for Option 2 per year is $8,908,474, both of which have a 4% increase per year.
Their proposal also has all flights going to Denver, but the frequency and aircraft type can vary depending on which option the city wants.
Option 1 is a mix of 50-seat Embraer E145s and 30-seat Dornier 328Jets at a frequency of 12 flights per week, Option 2 is 24 weekly flights on board its nine-seat Fairchild Metroliner, and Option 3 is a mixture of six weekly flights on a jet aircraft (either E145 or J328) and 12 weekly flights on the Metroliner.
Denver Air Connection aircraft parked in Denver. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
Option 1 has a subsidy of $6,449,526 per year, Option 2 is $6,028,965, and Option 3 is $6,239,746. All three options carry an annual subsidy increase of 6% each year.
This airline has an interline with all three of the United States three major airlines: American, Delta, and United.
SkyWest is the airline that used to serve Pueblo before Southern Airways Express, but those keen EAS followers will remember that Pueblo is one of the over 30 communities that the airline wanted to terminate a couple of years ago due to the pilot shortage.
A United Express CRJ-200 (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
If the community decides to take them back, then the service will return to nearly the same as what it was before with 12-weekly flights on board a 50-seat CRJ-200 under the United Express brand.
The subsidy will be between $6,047,937 and $6,924,283, and will only run for three years, where the other airlines submitting proposals are offering four-year contracts.
The final airline submitting a proposal is the one that currently flies to the city, and if re-selected, not much will change other than the subsidy. Southern Airways Express is proposing 24-weekly flights on board its eight-seat Pilatus PC-12s to Denver.
Southern Airways Express counter in Muskegon (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)
It does offer the most interlines than the rest of the airlines, offering four, including Alaska, American, Hawaiian, and United. The subsidy per-year rate will be between $3,715,407 and $4,001,087, and it is offering either a four-year or two-year option.
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