Pierre, Watertown receive bids for new airline service

The U.S. Department of Transportation will know next week which airline city officials in Pierre and Watertown recommend gets the Essential Air Service contract for both communities.

Pierre Mayor Steve Harding tells Dakota Radio Group the USDOT received three proposals for service to Pierre and four proposals for service to Watertown.

"The fourth one was a Minneapolis flight to Watertown only, so that really isn't a consideration for Pierre," Harding said. "One is by Boutique Air, and they submitted a proposal last year, and then the two new ones are Sky West and Key Lime. I've very pleased that we got three to be quite honest. These are Essential Air Service rural routes, there's not a lot of options out there."

Harding expects the selection process to be quick, but thorough.

"We had just a quick, initial look over with the city staff late yesterday afternoon," Harding said. "We're going to meet again on Monday to take a look at them. The U.S. Department of Transportation wants community comments by February 8, which is one week from today, and I am very pleased with that. I what to keep this process going because it is a great need here for our community. We're going to have one more meeting on Monday, and then I'm going to bring this to the commission Tuesday night next week with a recommendation for the full commission to consider."

The Watertown Airport Board is recommending their city council supports giving the EAS contract to Skywest Airlines, flying under the United Express brand.

"You know that's certainly going to carry some weight with our decision for sure, but we have't had an opportunity to really look at everything and so I wanted to do that one more time, but that will have some weight because we want to continue to partner with Watertown," Harding said. "

Pierre and Watertown have been without a carrier since mid-January when California Pacific Airlines stopped service to both communities.

An Essential Air Service contract provides federal subsidies to cover the cost of flights. The USDOT makes the ultimate EAS contract agreements, but does give EAS communities the opportunity to review the proposals and make a recommendation.