Community's response now due Aug. 2, port continues to work

MOSES LAKE — There's a little bit of breathing room when it comes to the area's endangered air service.

The U.S. Department of Transportation granted a 30-day extension to the Moses Lake community to make comment about reasons why the federally subsidized Essential Air Service program should not be terminated.

A letter from the DOT ordered the tentative termination of the service earlier this month, with a final comment deadline of July 3. The letter allowed carrier Big Sky Airlines to suspend service under the federal subsidy Aug. 1. Because the original 20-day deadline for comments falls on a Sunday, the port had been operating under the assumption the response was due Friday.

With the deadline extension, comments from the community are now due Aug. 2, and Port of Moses Lake executive manager Craig Baldwin said the tentative order to terminate the service on Aug. 1 has also been postponed. Once comments are turned in, Baldwin said, DOT will evaluate them and proceed with a decision about the service. Baldwin said the department normally responds within two weeks, but there is no timeline.

"I think it shows a positive sign," he said. "DOT is giving the community a fair opportunity to evaluate the service and what our needs are. In our comments, we will of course justify and explain why the service hasn't worked and hopefully give some solutions. I think it's a good step in the right direction."

Delone Krueger, president of the port board of commissioners, said news of the deadline extension gives an opportunity to continue to do in-depth research into the Essential Air Service situation, which he said is more than one little facet.

"We need to look at all the components that go into it," Krueger said, noting the port is looking for a solution that will work for the community and for the DOT program.

Members of the community gathered Tuesday morning at the Port of Moses Lake conference room for a teleconference with Sen. Patty Murray's office staff members in Seattle, Yakima and Washington, D.C.

Those representing Moses Lake included the port commissioners and Baldwin, Grant County Economic Development Council executive director Terry Brewer, Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce president Jacie Daschel, Moses Lake Mayor Ron Covey, Big Bend Community College president Bill Bonaudi from Washington, D.C., and Regional Aviation Partners associate director Todd Jorns calling from his office in Wisconsin. Jorns attended a meeting in Moses Lake earlier this month discussing the community's response.

"We discussed the problems that we're having, and some of the solutions that need to be taking place," Baldwin said, prior to receiving word from Murray's and Congressman Doc Hasting's offices that the request to extend the comment deadline had been granted.

The extension allows the port to review the present service and look at other options available.

"One of those, of course, is the community is very interested in getting service back to the Seattle market," Baldwin said. Big Sky switched from flights to Seattle to flights to Boise, Idaho and Portland, Ore., in 2005 in order to keep operational costs low and maintain the federally-subsidized service.

Baldwin said the original, 20-day deadline was not enough time to adequately respond to the letter. In Tuesday morning's meeting, Murray's staff agreed it would support the community's request for a 45-day extension, allowing enough time to review the service and look at other options available. Hasting's office also agreed to support the community's request.

Baldwin said the response from the Moses Lake community has been very positive in the wake of the original letter.

Part of the reason use of the air service at Grant County International Airport has declined is reliability, Baldwin said, as well as fares, difficulty in purchasing tickets and the destinations available.

Baldwin called for the community to continue to support air service and work together in order to save the EAS program, recommending that people continue to write letters of support.

"For the most part, the community supports air service and they feel that if it was reliable, they would fly it more often," he said.

Baldwin added that many of the letters the port has received have been "very honest" about why some people and businesses are not flying from the airport, but they have made the commitment that they would if reliable service without cancellation or delays is in place.

"We're working hard on this and appreciate the support the community has given," he said.