A protest letter from a regional airport has offered new insight into the collapse of a roughly two-year partnership between Air Wisconsin and American Airlines.
The letter, sent by the Wood County Airport Authority to protest an Essential Air Service (EAS) award, details a timeline of events that it claims led American to terminate its Capacity Purchase Agreement with the regional carrier almost three years early in April.
This contract termination led to around 600 job cuts, and virtually grounded Air Wisconsin’s fleet of CRJ-200 jets.
Trouble in Waterloo
According to the airport’s findings, the breakdown stems from Air Wisconsin’s performance on a previous EAS contract connecting Waterloo, Iowa, to Chicago, which was managed by American.
The letter alleges a flight completion rate of only 30%. It further states that the Waterloo Airport director confirmed there were no issues with American and that the “failure rested in Air Wisconsin’s inability to generate flights.”
This operational failure in Waterloo allegedly led American to end its Capacity Purchase Agreement with Air Wisconsin in April; it was initially slated to end around 2028. Following the termination of that primary contract, the partnership was downgraded to a simple codeshare agreement.
“When asked, Air Wisconsin stated that it wasn’t their contract, and would not explain the failure,” the letter continues. “The inability of Air Wisconsin to perform an EAS route managed by American Airlines raises doubts in its ability to manage and perform an EAS route on its own. When I asked, Air Wisconsin’s VP level representatives could not tell me their contact for the person at American Airlines who is working on the American Airlines end of our EAS service for this contract.”
The letter goes on to claim that the remaining partnership is on a fixed timeline for complete dissolution. The codeshare agreement is set to expire around April 2026, at which point it will become a more limited interline agreement. By April 2027, that final agreement is expected to expire, leaving no partnership in place between American and Air Wisconsin.
These details emerged as the Wood County Airport Authority protested the DOT’s decision to award its EAS contract to Air Wisconsin, arguing the airline cannot provide a promised codeshare to Charlotte, North Carolina, due to its defunct partnership with American.
The DOT recently awarded Air Wisconsin the contract for Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport with an annual subsidy rate of just over $5.5 million in the second year. At the time of writing, this remains Air Wisconsin’s only EAS contract, though it has applied for more.
American and Air Wisconsin did not immediately respond to requests for comment on these claims.
